The Bots Wizard
by Cybaster
Summary: The resistance begins anew, exactly one year to that fateful day...
1. Prologue

_He had to run. He had to hide._

_He was staggering through a field of various broken things, through boxes and concrete and other littered stuff. There was just too much of it; He couldn't see where he was going, nothing was giving him clues as to where he would end up. He was virtually blind, and might as well be. Which way would take him back home? Did home even exist?_

_He thought about stopping as his heart began to hurt, but as he even slowed, the broken monoeyed head of a destroyed bot stared back at him - destroyed just like all the others. It told him something. It told him that stopping here was a bad idea, and he forced himself to run again._

_What led to this? All he knew was that there was a firefight - one he had to see. He saw it, and regretted it. It seemed to be over, but he couldn't be sure. They were still looking. He didn't want to see any more._

_How long had he been running? He had no idea. All he needed to know was that he had to run. He had to run before they shot him, too._

_He had to find someone. An adult. Someone who'd take him away._

_He rounded some corner, behind a cluster of crates. He couldn't run anymore. His heart would blow if he tried to. What could he do? He was still not home, not safe. If he couldn't run...hide, yes. He could hide. He could wait here and sleep until morning, when the nightmares were gone._

_His mind made the decision for him. Panting, legs wobbling and barely holding him up, he hid behind the crates and huddled his legs to his chest, head laid low. He just wanted to sleep._

_There was silence save for the distant pounding of metal somewhere. It was getting closer._

_He stayed huddled. As long as they didn't find him._

_He hoped they didn't find him._

_Someone did._

_He raised his head to run again, but he was suddenly pulled back, back onto the ground. A hand went over his mouth, something sitting behind him, hugging him close. Catching him. His eyes widened. He tried to move, but he was pulled back again. He couldn't stay. He had been found. But he was held still._

_It was a small hand, not very much bigger than his. Another child's. He didn't dare turn to see who it was._

_What was he going to do to him? He was afraid. He had to run. But he was held still._

_Silence again. He paused._

_The pounding was getting closer. He paused._

_The hand was shaking, sweaty. He felt hotter, more uncomfortable. But he was held still._

_He paused._

_Someone spoke into his ear, a whisper. He couldn't make out what was said. The pounding was getting closer._

_It was closing in. He shuddered. He had to run._

_He had to run._

_He had to __**run**__._

_The pounding was almost there. The hand was still over his mouth. He was still being held still._

_He couldn't take it anymore. He was afraid. He wanted out. He wanted out!_

_He wanted out._

_Another whisper again, more desperate. He could take no more. His right hand went for the other hand, pulling it away. Someone gasped behind him._

_And then he screamed._

_He screamed._

_He screamed._

_And he would regret screaming for the rest of his life._


	2. Ep01a: The Biggest Coincidence

(And we're off! This story's been all too long in the making, but finally I'm ready to start it off...and really, I don't have too much to say, so scroll down! Special thanks to **Renata Swift** for being my ever-patient, ever-helpful Beta Reader - thank you.)

Disclaimer: _The Bots Master_ (and hence all applicable characters and locations from that show mentioned in this story) was produced by Jean Chalopin and DiC, as well as Avi Arad & Associates.

* * *

Episode 01: The Biggest Coincidence

* * *

April 15, 2026: 8:33am

_Fritz?_

_Fritz._

_Fritz._

_Fritz Lasalle?_

_Fritz._

_Fritz Lasalle!_

"_Psst, Fritz, wake up_!"

"_Fritz Lasalle_!"

"H-here!" Said boy, finally awake, sharply pulled himself up against his seat, raised his hand, and in the process toppled backwards onto the ground. The entire class snickered at that, while the teacher, a tall, frail-looking and lanky middle-aged man with greying brown hair and a small, curved moustache, shook his head, frowned and checked his name off on the yellow notepad he held.

"Noted." The teacher said dully, and promptly moved down the list. "Jonathan Lillian?"

Fritz blushed in embarassment, but only for a little while; It was gone as soon as the class stopped laughing, and he raised his head. His reflection in the monitor built into his desk stared back at him.

Friedrich Lorraine Lasalle - he preferred Fritz Lasalle, and most agreed with him - was never nearly as well-known for his appearance as he was for his frequent dozing off. Fritz was a small child, even for a sixth-grader; He was only a little taller than 3'2, and while his build was middling at best, Fritz was already quite petite for his age. His body, in fact, _just_ barely fit the white-and-grey jacket and pants, with red outlines, he wore about him, and nonetheless gave off an otherwise frail impression in the boy.

What his body lacked in stature, however, he made up for in uniqueness: Fritz had fine, short silver-colored hair - very few people in the entire world, much less in Megacity proper, could lay claim to that particular hair color - that neatly flowed around his head, protruding slightly over his forehead and ruby red-pupiled eyes, over healthy peach-colored skin with a few small freckles on his cheeks. Some would say that Fritz looked 'cute' that way; Fritz himself had gotten used to his unique look over the years and really didn't care much for it.

After all, being in the sixth grade, appearances _really_ didn't much matter.

His eyes began drooping again. He was tired, certainly. He _knew _he should've gone to bed earlier, but he couldn't resist. It had been a routine he had gladly settled into for...Fritz pursed his lips upwards in thought. Has it really been two months since he started doing that? Staying up late, sneaking out of the Boarding School to-

"Hey, Fritz!"

"Hey! What _is_ it?" Fritz answered sharply, turning towards his right at the classmate who had poked him in the waist - and the moment recognition set in, Fritz's annoyed expression vanished just as quickly as Fritz scratched his head apologetically. "Oh, s-sorry. What's up, Keith?"

Keith Halloran, with his combed-back brown hair and narrowed, sharp brown-pupiled eyes staring in concern at his best friend, simply frowned at Fritz for what was surely the nth time while he sat at the desk next to Fritz's. Wearing a blue coat and jeans over a green t-shirt, Keith was never one for elaboration, nor was he a particularly intelligent student like Fritz was, nor did he stand out amongst his classmates like Fritz did in appearance; Keith, however, was a kind boy who appreciated simplicity and was _bluntly_ honest, and that if nothing else quickly earned him Fritz's respect and friendship. "Are you _sure_ you're okay, Fritz?" Keith asked matter-of-factly, blinking at Fritz with his voice lowered. "You're sure looking a bit more tired than you usually do."

Knowing what Keith was going to ask next, Fritz quickly nodded as he deliberately turned back to face the teacher to avert his eyes from him. "Y-yeah, I'm fine!" Fritz countered quickly. "I'm fine, Keith. N-no worries."

Silence.

"Michael Parker...?"

"You can't keep doing this, y'know." Keith suddenly piped up, causing Fritz to turn his head right and blink quizzically at him. "It's really starting to hurt you."

"Do what?"

"Do, um, _that_?" Keith's eyes flickered rightwards a few times knowingly. "Y'know?"

Fritz just stared at him. Keith rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Oh, come on! Y'know?" Keith frowned again, and leaned forward as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Sneaking out at night? Where *do* you go, anyway? It's all *grown-up stuff* around the boarding school so I can't possibly-"

"Really, I'm fine! Just needed a bit to-*yaaaaaawn*..."

Keith smiled wryly while waiting for Fritz to finish yawning.

"_Really_, Keith, I'm good. I'll hang in there," Fritz raised his voice slightly, tone taking on a slight stern tinge as he stretched himself slightly at his own desk. "It's just that, ummm...y'know, the Corp Boys' School's just so...stuffy and everything, I just had to get out for a bit, y'know? Hey, as long as I don't get caught, right?"

"But where *do* you-"

"Not telling!" Fritz grinned and waved a finger at Keith.

"Well, I'm just worried about you, that's all, Fritz," Keith shrugged. Good luck getting _Fritz_ to talk after that. "I keep thinking you're gonna _faint_ on us any moment!"

"Johnny Sanchez?"

"It's possible, but I haven't done so yet, so there! Ha!" Fritz gazed at Keith mischeviously, smirking at his best friend and classmate. "You _worry_ too much, Keith."

"_Someone_ has to watch your back, Fritz!"

"Oh, what _will_ I ever do without you, Keith? Who _am_ I gonna get to watch my back?"

Keith grinned, and his words caused Fritz to fume indignantly. "Well, I'm sure that Pau-"

"Oh, be quiet, Keith!"

* * *

RM Corp Boys' Boarding School Cafeteria, 1:03pm

"**Please. Keep. In. Line.**" The tree-like six-armed 3A bot, painted pink and with a cylindrical head, beckoned in an unappealing, monotoned voice as a long line of various hungry boys filed towards it for their daily lunch meal, its six arms holding a variety of ladles, spoons and forks to brush the evenly-distributed servings of tomato soup, mashed potatoes and roasted chicken with vegetables onto the lunch trays for each and every boy. The rest of the cafeteria was no better, and was just as crowded; rows and rows of grey benches were virtually filled with boys talking with each other. "**Have. A. Nice. Lunch.**"

"I will!" Keith piped up as his turn came, standing in front of Fritz in the line, and held out his own lunch tray as he received his portion with a disdainful roll of his eyes. "It's, after all, the same lunch we've had for over, what, 8 months now, right Fritz?"

"Oh, yeah, I totally agree." Fritz was next, and his serving was no different. "Oh! Hey!" Fritz suddenly waved while holding his tray with one hand hurriedly. Keith turned around and gawked.

"**Yes?**"

"Can I just have about 4-5 of those Wrapped Pancake Treats for tonight?"

Fritz's face was straight as he asked this, and he was not worried; He's been asking that same question for the past two months, and the answer was the same, the 3A placing five small yellow buns tightly wrapped in plastic foil onto the top of his tray. Not that anybody really *asked* for them aside from Fritz, anyway; Fritz seemed to be the only one in the Boys' School who thought the wrapped buns, while sweet enough to actually taste like real pancakes, didn't otherwise have the unpleasant texture of a sponge. "**Here. You. Go. Please. Move. Along.**"

"Alright, alright, I'm moving! Thanks!"

"Wow," Keith raised an eyebrow at him in response as he and Fritz, with their lunches hot and ready, began walking around the crowds of hungry, bored boys to find an empty spot to sit down. Fritz simply smiled proudly. "You must _really_ like these pancake treats! I dunno how you can even bear to _eat_ them, much less _like_ them this much; I tried one before, and it was like chewing through a sponge! Ewwww!"

Fritz shrugged with a brief flicker of his shoulders and merely grinned at him. "Well, I take what I get!"

"Reeeeeally."

Eventually, Fritz and Keith found their spot, and sat on the grey bench opposite each other at the edge of their bench; Their table was near one of the clean, yet _incredibly_ bland grey brick walls that made up the noisy cafeteria, and there was a small Televiewer hanging on the ceiling next to the wall, displaying what seemed to be the tail end of a Quiz Show. With only a brief, bored glance at the Televiewer - Quiz Shows never appealed to them, anyway, and this one was just beginning to air its credits - Fritz and Keith took a deep breath and began nibbling at their lunches with their spoons, in no particular hurry to wolf down the same food they've been served for pretty much their entire school year thus far.

It was only after both Fritz and Keith had finished their tomato soup did Keith finally look up, tapping Fritz on his left shoulder with his right index finger. "Hey, Fritz?"

Fritz, in response, looked up at him. "Yep?"

"You have any plans for tomorrow?" Keith asked sheepishly, absently stirring the white creamy sauce for his roast chicken with his spoon. Fritz blinked.

"Nope, I was actually planning to study for the Math test next week in the library. Why'd you ask, Keith?"

"Oh, I was actually wondering if you'd like to hang out with us tomorrow, seeing as how your family's over in France and all," Keith offered gently; Whereas Keith's parents lived in Megacity, Fritz's family lived in Versailles, over in France. Every summer Fritz would return home there, and then come back to Megacity for the new school term; As such, Fritz and Keith had been the best of friends since the fourth grade, with Keith being the only close friend Fritz has on their side of the Atlantic Ocean. "Mom and Dad are gonna pick me up tomorrow after class and we're gonna go see the Parade down at Main Street, after which we're gonna go back home for lunch and dinner, so you wanna come along? We can play video games in my room and just hang out-"

"Wait, wha? Parade?" At Keith's words, however, Fritz just blinked confusedly at him - he was peering upwards periodically, racking his brain as if there was something important he's forgotten. "What're you talking about, Keith?"

Keith's own response was a completely flabbergasted look at him.

"You mean you don't know? Don't tell me you _forgot_ what tomorrow is, Fritz, everyone's only been talking about it in class over the past _week_!" Keith gasped, raising a hand and stretching his palm horizontally towards Fritz to make a point. "Okay, Fritz, you _really_ need to stop sneaking out like this. Seriously. I think you're really starting to-"

"Keith, wait! Wait, wait, waitwaitwait!" Fritz hurriedly held out his own palms towards Keith to stop him before rubbing his chin in thought. What was it...? "What's tomorrow...?"

Fritz's question, however, was promptly answered. Just as Fritz was racking his memory, the Televiewer next to them blared with familiar, eyecatching music that caught Fritz and Keith's attention just as quickly; Turning their heads, Fritz and Keith peered intently at the Televiewer as the commercials finally gave way to the Afternoon News Hour - and a _very_ well-recognized, flamboyantly pretty woman with black hair and eyes, wearing a pink-and-black stylish dress with a teal triangle pattern at the waist, appeared next to what would've been Megacity's busiest 'Main Street'.

Fritz just stared.

"_This is Lonnie Chang, reporting live from Megacity's never-faltering 'Main Street' - a street that runs through the very heart of the city towards the RM Corp Building that brought about its name,_" The reporter - none other than Lonnie Chang herself - began as she smiled towards the camera, holding a microphone in one hand. "_Traditionally ever since the conception of Megacity, this street has been the very neverending pulse of city business._"

The camera panned away to show the mass of bustling cars moving to and fro the street in question. At the mention of Main Street, Fritz's eyes narrowed. He was missing something, just a little bit...

Then it hit him bluntly, and Fritz gasped in surprise as his eyes widened.

"_Tomorrow, however, Main Street runs quiet as a pulse of a very __**different**__ sort takes place over the wide city streets - as all eyes within the city and in every nation in the world await the Ceremonial Parade that would take place tomorrow morning as part of the very first celebration of-_"

"-Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day," Fritz sighed, slapping his forehead - and at the sudden memory, Fritz involuntarily _shuddered_ in an unknown sense of discomfort that Fritz hurriedly held in to keep from Keith. As Fritz turned away from the Televiewer, the newscast switched to a small box showing a portrait of the Robotic Megafacts Corporation's very founder and charismatic leader that, as Lonnie's newscast continued, widened and enveloped the entire screen. _Stupid, stupid..._ "Sheesh! Of _course_! How could I have forgotten _that_?"

Keith nodded, smirking at Fritz's occasional forgetfulness but not - yet - noticing Fritz's sudden unease.

"_It would be tomorrow that everyone in Megacity, and certainly all over the world, gather in memoriam to the one charismatic leader of this city's founding Robotic Megafacts Corporation that, a year ago to the day, lost his very life in the personal defence of the city and the company which he dearly loved; Under the leadership of this extraordinary man, Sir Lewis Leon Paradim, the man who had brought to us the 3As that powered every aspect of our daily lives, the RM Corp grew from a fringe tech company in an immensely influential Multi-national Megacorporation. Also a former veteran of the infamous Second Korean War and a renouned, hardened war hero who lost his right hand in the line of duty, his leadership and force of personality never faltered even after an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department a year ago regarding his alleged involvement in the attempted kidnapping of Yvonne Iverson, the First Daughter of President Andrew Iverson, as well as the repeated acts of deliberate and continued terrorism by the late-_"

At that name, Fritz Lasalle bit his lip unhappily. There were two things, Fritz frowned inwardly, that Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day were known for in Megacity, both of which shook the RM Corp - and with it the world - in its very foundations; The first was the well-publicised, much-lamented death of the RM Corp's founder and the chief architect of its once-triumverate of CEOs, the man whose face and name graced the very holiday he was posthumously named for, who was said to have had been killed personally sortieing and defending the RM Corp Building that fateful night.

The other was the death of Paradim's very archenemy - the infamous Ziv Zulander.

Ziv Zulander.

It was still difficult to believe that one single man had been able to carry on an entire war with the RM Corp for as long as he did, and for much of that time, nobody really understood why Zulander decided to take up arms against them in the first place. It was no secret, however, that throughout the many battles Zulander and Paradim fought over the course of what would be known as the 'Zulander Uprising', the two men became bitter enemies with their own personal grudges against each other; Paradim's reputation tarnished and his bid for World Presidency utterly destroyed, Zulander battered mentally by a growing number of defeats and the loss of his friends.

So could anyone blame Ziv Zulander, a notorious 'terrorist' who nobody believed might've been fighting for a very good reason at first, for trying to end the conflict once and for all the way he did: by making a surprise attack on the RM Corp Building in one frontal assault to eliminate the Corp leadership in one stroke? It seemed only natural that things would end that way, especially after three days earlier when-

_But he's not with them..._

"Fritz?"

_He's not with them..._

"Fritz!"

"Ummm...huh?"

Finally, Keith managed to snap Fritz out of his own uncomfortable thoughts, and Fritz hurriedly blinked and shook his head as his mind returned - at least for now - to the present. He turned his eyes back towards Keith to the sight of his best friend waving his palm side-to-side slowly in front of his face. "Earth to Frederich? Hello? What's _wrong_ with you, Fritz? You suddenly look like we have a surprise test coming up - you're really _pale_!"

"Oh. Y-yeah, it's nothing, Keith."

_Not with them..._

"_As the first inaugural celebration of Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day as a statutory holiday in Megacity, most businesses will be closed over the course of tomorrow, and Main Street itself will be closed for the festivities. The Memorial Parade, which is expected to draw crowds in the tens of __**thousands**__, will march through the beginning of Main Street, stopping at the main entrance to the RM Corp Building for the official ceremonies._" Lonnie continued on the Televiewer. "_Both Lady Frenzy, the current incumbent CEO of the Robotic Megafacts Corporation after Sir Lewis' death a year ago, and Dr. Hiss, once the RM Corp's Chief of Research and Development during Sir Lewis' rise to power, are expected to head the ceremonies tomorrow to commemorate the existence of this wonderful, extraordinary man. This is Lonnie Chang, reporting from Main Street. Back to you..._"

Keith looked at Fritz with a disbelieving glance, left eye brow raised incredulously. Fritz was cheery and positive, Keith sighed, but sometimes, ever since a year back, Fritz would slip into bouts of quiet, disjointed unease like he just did, without warning and for no apparent reason whatsoever - as far as Keith knew. And these episodes seemed to grow more and more frequent of late - _this_ one seemed to be caused by the realization that the very first Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day was tomorrow. Naturally concerned for Fritz, Keith just didn't understand it.

Fritz had his reasons, in turn. Fritz knew that. He would _never_ forget.

But how could he tell Keith? Who would understand?

"So!" Keith, however, piped up first, shrugging and prodding at his slabs of roast chicken as he began breaking off small pieces and picking them up into his mouth into his spoon; There was a small pause as he finished chewing and swallowed the bite. Maybe Fritz really needed a day off; Hopefully, Keith surmised, that was all there was to Fritz's odd behaviour. "So how about it, Fritz? Wanna hang out at my house tomorrow after the Parade? I think you really need a day off - so do I! I'm pooped with all this schoolwork! Pretty please?"

At that, Fritz paused as he took a deep breath. Maybe Keith was right - he *has* been a little worked up lately. Maybe some time off doing something _else_ other than sneaking out at night like that - but he was still going to tonight anyway! - might do Fritz some good. It might help him take his mind off of _that_, too...even though the entire holiday reeks of it.

But maybe, Fritz was hopeful as he shrugged inwardly, Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day (aside from the unnecessarily long name) might not be so bad...

"Sure!"

"Cool! I'll tell Mom and Dad tonight on the phone," Keith nodded, smiling widely - which suddenly took on a mischevious gleam. He just _had_ to say it. "Y'know...the Corp _Girls'_ School gets tomorrow off, too, Fritz."

Fritz winced. "Annnnd?"

"So how about you call her up and ask if she'd like to come with us?" Keith's smirk widened at that as he leaned forward slightly; There was positively only _one_ other person in Megacity that could unnerve Fritz more than Fritz could unnerve himself, and if Keith didn't keep teasing him about her...how much longer will Fritz remain so _dense_? "I'm sure she'd _love_ to have you with her on such a nice day off, right?"

That did it. Fritz blushed as he fidgeted his eyes left and right away from Keith. "N-no thanks."

"You don't know what you're _mi~~~~ssing_, Fritz!" Keith teased.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

* * *

Robotic Megafacts Corporation Building, Top Floor, 2:37pm

Even a year after the death of Sir Lewis Leon Paradim, the gargantuan penthouse office on the very top floor of the RM Corp Building that belonged and _defined_ him, towering over its namesake city, hadn't changed at all. The wide double doors leading into the office proper opened into a luxurious space of a glass-like silver floor and an immensely wide, nearly _empty_ area. The ceiling was at least over fifteen meters high, with the two side walls made nearly entirely of glass - one side overlooking the harbor and the ocean beyond, the other overlooking Megacity itself, both shimmering with the light of a perfectly sunny and beautiful day outside. Past the middle of the penthouse was a small flight of stairs leading up the platform, the stairs themselves flanked by gigantic statues of the Corp's famed 3A 'Greenbots', encased in rectangular glass.

On this platform, in turn, was the very heart and soul of the Robotic Megafacts Corporation, in front of the gargantuan gold-plated world map that comprised of the entirety of the back wall: an extraordinarily wide green marble desk with built-in controls behind its curved end, with an ornate, long yellow reclining chair at the center and flanked by two smaller white chairs on the opposite side. At an ideal time, this arrangement reflected the 'diabolical' triumvirate that comprised the peak of power of the RM Corp, before the Zulander Uprising: Paradim, the visionary, warrior and political force of personality, watched over the RM Corp behind the desk on the yellow chair. Dr. Hiss, the maimed-yet-brilliant scientist and the technical (and military) heart of the Corp, usually sat in the chair facing Paradim's right during important meetings. And Lady Frenzy, the public voice and charismatic diplomat of the triumvirate, usually sat in the chair facing his left. Although Paradim was the one man who held the Corp together during its early times, it was this triumvirate that allowed the RM Corp to prosper...and that triumvirate breaking apart at its source was the course of its decline as well.

"It's hard to believe that it's already one year to that day, Hiss..."

While Dr. Hiss retained his usual seat in the RM Corp's Penthouse Office even after he had since lost the position of Chief of Research and Development over six months ago, it was none other than Lady Frenzy herself who now sat on Paradim's coveted reclining chair behind the seat of power, leaning with a bored, almost _exhausted_ expression with her head leaning on her right hand, her arm propped up on the table itself; Standing a ways behind her, perfectly still to her right flank in a ready, vigilant position as its eyes scanned back and forth, was the Gold-painted Greenbot that served as Lady Frenzy's personal bodyguard - feeling its visual sensor scanning back and forth over her, Frenzy inwardly shuddered, still unaccustomed to its 'company' even after one year to the day she became CEO.

Being watched like a hawk by the very first of the RM Corp's 'Thinking Bots' - which Paradim had named 'Prometheus' before his death, after the legendary Titan that brought Humanity fire - would do that, Frenzy supposed; If nothing else, subsequent events after the introduction of Barnett's 'Brain Grain' into the Corp's 3As also quickly made sure that Prometheus would also be the _last_ of the _very_ short-lived Thinking Bots left to the RM Corp, something which ultimately Frenzy was actually _thankful_ for. The _one_ she was stuck with (who callously sat itself in Paradim's chair the day it introduced itself, no less) was already unnerving enough; an _army_ of Prometheuses, even with how much both Hiss and Paradim had taken stock in them when they were first introduced, would drive Lady Frenzy absolutely insane with worry and fear.

Staring at Hiss with a frown, Frenzy couldn't help but lament her simpler days, when her place was on the other white chair on the other end of the table - back during those days, the gold-plated world map behind Paradim was _the_ definitive symbol of the old 'Golden Days' of the RM Corp, the sign of the RM Corp's ultimate objective at their peak of power: _World Domination_. Things were simple for Frenzy then, her friends and enemies clear-cut and the RM Corp's goals all but theirs for the taking; After Paradim's death, however, everything changed, and under her incumbent (and inexperienced) leadership Frenzy found herself, and the RM Corp, fighting instead for its very survival.

More by default than anything else, she was the one who inherited the CEO position from Paradim after that fateful day - and unlike Dr. Hiss, whose bald, strange-eyed and disjointed, cybernetic appearance of a mixture of flesh and red-and-blue tubes, servos and cybernetic plating, remained mostly unchanged throughout the year behind a white coat and light blue pants (or perhaps Hiss was simply more jaded to the tiring routine), the ravages of her new position was beginning to visibly tell on Lady Frenzy. By the standards of many other men she had encountered over the years, Frenzy was a strikingly beautiful woman with her pale blond hair curled into a sassy array of bangs and a ponytail, alluringly sharp green eyes and an ever voluptuous, shapely body around a blue top with black sleeves and yellow shoulders, black tight pants, and a tight, short pink skirt and knee-high boots, as well as long, diamond-like gold earrings - even though many would say that Frenzy's beauty hadn't faded one bit during the incumbent year, there was also a very noticeable tinge of wear and fatigue in her eyes...brought about by the cold reality of experience, perhaps, from being forced to learn her new position.

Or perhaps it could also be something else...

"Time fliesssssssss, doessssssssn't it, Lady Frenzzzzzzzy?" Hiss raised his right hand in a shrug as he, too, frowned; Although his vehement disdain for his once-colleague, now-superior back when Paradim was still alive had not completely faded even now, the incumbent year - and his newfound vulnerable tenure in the RM Corp after being demoted out of Chief of Research and Development - had seemingly taught him to be more mellow and more appreciative of Frenzy's new place as the incumbent CEO...or at least to deal with it and shut up. "Ssssssso how doessssssss it feel to be ssssssitting in LLP's chair for a whole year now?"

"I'm hanging in there," Frenzy sulked just a little more with a bitter sigh. "It's hard to imagine that LLP could bite the dust before either of us like that, much less that I'd be the one taking his place...I miss the old days, Hiss. Back when we were at our peak, when the whole _world_ itself was within our grasp, either by the Krang Chips or by trying to get LLP elected to the World Presidency...things were a lot more simple for the both of us then, weren't they?"

"**Things change quickly, Lady Frenzy,**" Prometheus suddenly piped up, his deep, demon-like voice causing Frenzy to shiver involuntarily. "**As do our enemies. That is the way of war.**"

Hiss merely nodded, finding himself in rare agreement with Prometheus - and found it odd. The _old_ Hiss would've taken this chance to make a disparaging remark about Lady Frenzy's idea of 'job simplicity' being little more than to wink, and flirt, and wrap old men like Mortimer Cromley around her fingers, but it discomforted him to think that things in the RM Corp were indeed a lot different now, as was himself; Hiss shuffled slightly in uncertainty at that. When it came to Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day, there was one _glaring_ topic in particular that neither Hiss nor Frenzy wanted to mention for, in many ways, it jabbed too close to their hearts - which in the old days Hiss would've _never_ hesitated to make clear his displeasure on in front of Paradim...

But a year to that day, Hiss knew that he _needed_ to say it. For Lady Frenzy, Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day _had_ to mean more to her than merely the death of her boss and her being thrust into Paradim's former position. She had lost _more_ than that.

_Much_, much more than that, Hiss was afraid.

"Frenzzzzzzy-"

"They're expecting us to head the ceremonies in front of the RM Corp Building tomorrow," Lady Frenzy continued tiredly, straightening herself slightly and lifting her head from her right arm as she placed her arm back along the table...it was as if Frenzy knew what Hiss was going to say the very moment that instinctive ache in her heart began anew and, biting her lip mirthlessly at that feeling, was going to prevent him from doing so with every bit of her authority. "So actually be _presentable_, Hiss. We're both going to be asked to make memorial speeches for LLP-"

A _chaotic_ chorus of beeping suddenly erupted on the controls behind the gargantuan marble desk, interrupting Frenzy and Hiss' reminiscing on the Golden Days of the RM Corp, and with a sharp frown Frenzy gazed down and pressed a button at the bottom of the displays to open a channel. Her eyes narrowed - as did Hiss'. That could only be one thing...or one person.

"**Professor. Stark. Is. Here. As. Lady. Frenzy. Requested.**" The 3A on the other end of the channel reported emotionlessly; Compared to Prometheus, the disjointed voice was _another_ relic of simpler days that Frenzy welcomed. "**Awaiting. Interview.**"

"Send him in," Frenzy answered.

There was only a slight pause before the double doors leading to the Penthouse Office slid opened with a hiss, and Lady Frenzy straightened herself regally as she took a deep breath and leaned back along the yellow reclining chair, crossing her arms; Shortly after, as Hiss himself turned his chair around towards the entrance to 'welcome' the new guest, the doors fully opened to reveal a tall, lanky man with short, messy red hair, slightly pale peach-colored skin on a long face and angular chin, and _condescending_ grey eyes behind round spectacles. Ever dressed in the part of a scientist, he began walking crisply towards his CEO and colleague in grey clinical pants, polished black leather shoes, and a large white lab coat over a grey suit, holding a portable tablet underneath his left armpit as he walked. When he walked up the stairs onto the platform towards her desk, Frenzy let out a small, bitter frown; He was only one more reminder to her - and Hiss, naturally - of how things had changed drastically since a year ago.

The lanky man promptly stopped himself in front of Lady Frenzy's desk, standing professionally straightened, and stared straight at her.

"You wished to see me, Chairwoman?"

With a brief side glance at Hiss, Frenzy turned her eyes back on the lanky man intently. Hiss was positively _seething_ with fury underneath his lopsided cybernetic sneer, and Lady Frenzy couldn't fault him for it; Professor Tanner Stark, after all, was not only the person who ended up replacing Hiss as the RM Corp's Chief of Research and Development - having come highly recommended by both Paradim himself when he was still alive, and from Stark's own R&D Sector colleagues after Paradim was dead - after the debacles suffered by the RM Corp in France during the incumbent year after the end of the Zulander Uprising, but also the very person who _spearheaded_ the vote of non-confidence in Hiss under charges of gross incompetence and virtually _rallied_ the entire R&D Department against him as well. Under Stark's charges, not even Frenzy herself had been able to protect Hiss; Demoting Hiss to Chief Technician Manager - little more than a glorified Repair Shop Supervisor in the RM Corp's Servicing Department - was all Frenzy could do to keep Hiss around.

"Yes, Professor Stark. Have a seat." Frenzy replied, and as Stark walked over and took his seat in Lady Frenzy's _old_ chair opposite her, Hiss kept glowering at him bitterly. Stark smirked back in arrogance and gazed at Hiss briefly with a taunting, patronizing look, relishing his triumph over his professional rival and once-superior before turning his head back to Frenzy. "I'm going to be blunt: How is the field testing for Project Vedrfolnir at Point Zero currently going, Stark?"

Stark's smirk widened at that.

"Everything is proceeding right on schedule, Chairwoman," Stark reported smugly, taking the tablet with his right hand and lifting it up diagonally next to his chest, tapping on the screen with a few quick finger jabs to conjure a variety of small green status screens on it. "Our factories within our zones of influence in Northern Ireland, Portugal, Cuba and Canada have all completed their designated modules and parts and have already shipped their modules out into the Atlantic; In addition, we've successfully made field tests of the new Intensity Booster over the past three days - my R&D team's been able to consistently replicate a MDB-caliber Particle Blaster output increase of within 380-500% of nominal levels. A scaled-up Intensity Booster prototype is already at Point Zero; The actual parts for Vedrfolnir will arrive tonight, ready for final assembly."

"And how long will assssssssembly take?" Hiss snapped back, his larger eye glaring at Stark in disdain.

"Far sooner than it took _you_ with your ever-so-wasteful Goliath upgrades of the ancient days, _Chief Technician Manager_ Hiss; Besides, as far as I'm concerned, this is confidential Research and Development information and is _none_ of your business anymore, is it?" Stark countered, grinning ferally back; Hiss grumbled and shrivelled slightly at the counterinsults. "If Vedrfolnir actually needs a Repairbot sent to service it, I'll be sure to let you know."

"You upssssssta-"

"Be _careful_ what you say in front of _me_, Stark," Frenzy countered dryly, leaning forward a little to glare at her upstart Chief of R&D before this back-and-forth bickering ran too long. Seeing Stark hurriedly cough and fiddle with his collar with his right hand to recompose himself before he went out of bounds, it was Hiss' turn to smirk a little. "You might be the Chief of R&D now, but what you called the 'ancient days' also happens to be the peak of power and fame that LLP brought to the RM Corp, and _I_ wouldn't be where I am now without those 'ancient days' you mentioned. Now answer the man's question, if you will."

"As you wish, Chairwoman," Stark coughed again uncomfortably and looked back down at his tablet pointedly. "As I was about to say before I was rudely interrupted by the Chief Technical Manager, Chairwoman, the arrangements of the module parts were made to be as inconspicuous as possible while allowing for easy assembly of each individual module, followed by the modules assembled with each other; Once the modules for Vedrfolnir reach Point Zero tonight, it should only take at _most_ three hours to complete Vedrfolnir's assembly phase - we can begin field testing immediately tomorrow in the morning, just before the Parade Ceremony for Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day begins."

Lady Frenzy only gave an even nod at the report, narrowed her eyes a little, and finally propped both arms in a triangular motion with her elbows on the desk, hands grasped together firmly in decision. She's heard enough - it was time to drop the hammer on her upstart Chief of R&D and bring about the point of the entire audience.

"Stark, I want you to lock down Point Zero and cease all scheduled field testing for the entirety of Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day tomorrow."

The smirk on Stark's face faded _immediately_.

"Ex...excuse me, Chairwoman?"

"I said I want you to cease all scheduled field testing for Sir LLP Day tomorrow and make sure Point Zero is secured." Lady Frenzy reiterated firmly. "This includes the planned assembly for Vedrfolnir as well, Stark - I want you to push them all back until the day after Sir LLP Day-"

"W-with all due respect, Chairwoman," Stark stammered, raising both hands towards her in protest; Trying to stifle her fatigue, Frenzy stared back at him unmovingly, symbolizing her stance on the matter and having had anticipated every intent in Stark to fight the order. "Vedrfolnir is a very symbolic Research and Development Project for the RM Corp that would ensure its superiority in military technology for years to come! Now that we've had everything prepared and scheduled for it, time is of the essence, Chairwoman! Besides, my R&D Sector's already taken every adequate precaution to maintain secrecy and haste..."

"If there's one thing I learned from the past, Stark, it's that no matter how much security we put, how much we plan to make sure something goes off without a hitch, _no_ precaution's ever for certain," Lady Frenzy promptly frowned at Stark's attempt at desperate assurance, welling out the memories of the past from her head as she closed her eyes, averting her head away from Stark; Hiss' own eyes narrowed knowingly. She remembered - for the worse. "You _know_ that the Alliance is constantly monitoring our assets overseas, even in Megacity, Stark; They're just _waiting_ for us to slip up so they can have an excuse to finally run us into the ground, and it's all too ripe a chance for some innocent family to coincidentally run into Point Zero while on vacation. Or worse: if Alliance agents can get their hands on a security leak about Vedrfolnir, or the Intensity Booster, or _any_ of the weapons testing you've been performing at Point Zero, and use Sir LLP Day to reveal them to the rest of the world. _That_ would be an absolute disaster in public relations - nobody, and I mean _nobody_ will ever trust us again. I _refuse_ to take that chance, Stark, no matter how important Vedrfolnir is to the Corp."

Stark jumped upwards, out of his seat, and towered over both Frenzy and Hiss as his expression turned almost _livid_ in protest.

"But Chairwoman-"

"_Do_ I make myself clear, Stark?"

After an uneasy silence and a persistent, steeled glare from Lady Frenzy as she gazed up at him firmly, Stark seemed to finally cower and give way as he nodded once, his once-arrogant and proud look faltering into slightly noticeable dejection. If nothing else, at least, Stark knew _when_ he should just stand downwind of his boss and admit defeat, even if his boss doesn't truly understand what she truly had nearing the grasp of her hand...at least publicly.

"A-as you wish, Chairwoman. Will that be all you want to talk to me about?"

"No, that's all, Stark. You may go."

"Have a good afternoon, then, Chairwoman."

Stark bowed once out of routine courtesy and, turning towards Hiss briefly, sneered at him with an accusationary look, as if Hiss was the true culprit that had forced Frenzy to delay Vedrfolnir just to spite him; The feeling was mutual, and Hiss in turn kept glowering at him and turning his chair all the way to keep facing his rival as Stark turned, walked down the stairs and eventually made his way out of the Penthouse Office, Lady Frenzy finally sighed in fatigue, shake her head, and slump forward with her eyes closed. "Do you think Stark'll listen to my orders, Hiss?"

"No," Hiss simply replied bitterly, turning back towards Frenzy with a derisive, sharp sigh. "Sssssssstark's jusssssst that kind of impatient persssssson that he can't keep hissss gun ssssssheathed once it'ssssss cocked and loaded. With Vedrfolnir sssssso clossssse to completion, Sssstark'll find ssssssome way that he won't have to wait. He thinkssssss he'sssss sssssmarter than all of ussssss!"

"That's what I thought," Frenzy sighed sadly; The sad truth, alas, was that Hiss was probably _right_ about one other thing regarding Stark. _He *is* smarter than both of us, and LLP knows it,_ Frenzy mulled to herself._ Trying to keep him in check with Vedrfolnir so close to completion is going to be next to impossible_...

Hiss shook his head at that...and it was _his_ turn to dejectedly slump. "I misssssss the good ol' dayssssss, Frenzzzzzy," Hiss mused, looking upwards briefly at his now-boss in sympathy - everything was beginning to wear Frenzy out, and _somebody_ had to say it. It might as well, after all, be Hiss. "I ssssswear, fighting Zzzzzzulander wassss much, much sssssimpler and eassssier than dealing with that upsssstart Sssstark! At leasssst we _know_ with Zzzzzzulander that he'ssssss an enemy and we know how to fight him..."

Frenzy bit her lip unhappily at the name that was finally mentioned in accordance to Sir LLP Day: the _other_ person in her life - the one that, Frenzy would _never_ admit out loud but knew was true, was far more important to her than even the very founder of the RM Corp - that was taken away from Lady Frenzy on that fateful day, one year ago. Oh, how Frenzy wished things were as simple as those days of cat-and-mouse with Ziv Zulander, even moreso that things had been _different_ between them! Mysterious and yet so _predictable_ in his obvious attraction to her, Zulander was easy to comprehend for her, be it plotting to capture him or fighting him and his 'BOYZZ' head-on in battle; And even so, with Zulander, Frenzy _knew_ where he stood, where to focus the Corp's animosities towards, and above all else, there was _no_ intrigue with Ziv Zulander despite his own varying plots to catch the Corp off-guard.

Unlike the enemies of today, that was, or the Alliance, or the sides that had arrayed against the RM Corp in Europe during the Frame War...

Or conflicting interests from within the Corp itself like Stark...

"Yes, Hiss," Frenzy shook her head as she lifted herself back up, leaning tiredly against LLP's former reclining chair as Prometheus kept a vigilant watch behind her, all the same, and closed her eyes with a frown. How Frenzy had longed for things to have had been different between her and Ziv Zulander, and the RM Corp as well... "I miss those simple days, too; I miss having only that _one_ man to fight..."

* * *

Atlantic Ocean, 15 miles Northeast of Megacity: 7:14pm

A Second Korean War-era vintage transport submarine left over from the end of the conflict over eight years ago, the _Liberation_ was formerly part of the American Navy that was heavily damaged by coastal turret fire during an attempt to insert landing troops deep behind enemy lines in the Orange Delta Offensive; Later, the submarine was purchased by the British Royal Navy and converted into a Black Ops Stealth Submarine for SAS teams - which was then converted _again_ eleven months ago to accomodate full-sized vehicles for stealth insertion, serving with distinction in the English Channel up until a few weeks ago.

Now, it served as the Mobile Headquarters of the European Alliance for Human Freedoms' so-called 'Black Crows' Squadron as it made its way underwater, near the 'forbidden' coastal areas near Megacity, on a suitably important mission warranting the _Liberation_'s stealth systems to keep it hidden from detection by all means. As a refit for modern times, the _Liberation_ was tall, not long; Its hanger space was expanded, but the rest of the ship remained dilapidated, barely lit at places, and its corridors cramped in a mass of pipes and steel gratings. As for the so-called 'Briefing Room' located behind the starboard side of the _Liberation_...it fared little better, despite being better lit with a dangling white ceiling light.

Unfortunately, the _Liberation_'s Briefing Room also doubled as its Officers' Lounge, making it even more crowded with a small Televiewer hanging off one corner of the room, a tightly-packed steel table at the center surrounded by iron benches, and various dirty plates, utensils, empty-to-half-finished glasses and the remains of the alfresco dinner served earlier still lying messily on the table top. In fact, the only thing that marked the room as a Briefing Room was the small holoscreen built into the far side of the steel plated wall, and it _barely_ managed to fit the five men and women piled into the room at that very moment.

"Right, then. Everyone full now? Don't nod off on me; We have a lot to cover tonight." The first to speak was the hardened, middle-aged man sitting at the far end of the Briefing Room - Captain Saul Wellings of the Alliance's 'Black Crows' Squadron, the outfit's veteran leader - directly next to the holoscreen while sitting up slightly with his rear resting on the headrest of the benches behind him and his arms crossed sternly around his chest; the man, large-built, tall and muscular despite his age, had slightly darker peach skin, oily short brown hair and narrow eyes, and a full, squared brown beard around his lips and rectangular chin that made him look a few years older than he really was. "If you haven't finished, too bad. Wait until after the briefing."

Seated around the sides of the steel table, two to Saul's left and two to his right, were the other members of the Black Crows. To Saul's right, slightly shorter and averaging with a shaved head, dark brown skin, black eyes and a round chin, was Damien Bouchard - the squadron's de-facto Electronics Warfare Operator and the team's Second-in-Command. To Damien's right was Sonny O'Rourke, the Black Crows' long-range sniper, a middling-built man with crew cut blond hair, light peach skin, a thin nose and large blue eyes, and opposite Sonny was a man with the same slightly dark peach complexion as Wellings, with long shoulder-length brown-hair, square brown-eyes and a double-chin: John Crowley, the Black Crows' Heavy Assault expert. Finally, to John's own right side and sitting directly in front of Saul to his left was the last of the Black Crows' members, Kaylie Morgan - a rough-looking, large woman with a square chin and pale-like peach skin, short, messy blond hair in an incoherent mass that leaned towards the left and over Kaylie's left eye, wide blue eyes and a moderate bust. Kaylie, along with Saul himself, were the skirmishers of the Black Crows. All five of the Black Crows were dressed in identical brown flight suits with white outlines, with the exception of Saul himself; Although he also wore the same flight suit, his suit was deliberately ripped slightly at the top to reveal some of his upper chest, and he wore a brown cap over his head.

"But sir," Sonny whined, raising his hand and pouting playfully; It left little to the imagination that Sonny was the de-facto moodmaker of the Black Crows Squadron. "I was thinking of getting some more soup beforehand to go with your nice speeches, too."

The others snickered briefly as Saul raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, as I said, Sonny, 'too bad'. Alright, be serious and let's get started; Damien, dim the lights, please." Saul's stern voice raised even more firmly, and the other Black Crows fell quiet and turned intently at him and the holoscreen. As Damien lifted his left arm, reached for the light switch behind him and flicked the round dial downwards, the light dimmed enough for the holoscreen to be noticeable. Taking another pause to ensure that he had his team's attention for certain, Saul took a deep breath and turned his head towards the holoscreen next to him.

"Black Crows, this is the big one: The one mission we've been waiting for since the end of the war."

Kaylie nodded in anticipation.

"I hope you're all ready: the _Liberation_ will arrive at the target landing zone in another 90 minutes - it'll drop us off 6 miles to the northeast of the very outskirts of Megacity, and 3 miles north of our target objective," Saul began as a small top view map of the Megacity proximity appeared on the holoscreen - followed by the map zooming in towards a red dot to the northeast of the city, on a shoreline hidden between a hidden valley cluster, and the holoscreen switching to what seemed to be a satellite view of a sizable military base. "Our target tonight is a hidden RM Corp weapons testing facility located here on this shoreline; Yes, Black Crows...welcome to what the RM Corp named 'Point Zero'."

The other Black Crows gasped and murmured in various states of disbelief.

"'Point Zero'...it wasn't a hoax? It actually _exists_, sir?" John piped up, staring with widened eyes at Saul at the existence of the RM Corp's rumored weapons testing site.

"I'm afraid so, John. It took awhile for the Alliance's own agents to ascertain the location of Point Zero, but as you can see, it's _very_ real...and of late it's been _very_ busy," Saul nodded and continued, his voice and expression in a dull, grim humor. The worst, Saul frowned inwardly, was yet to come. "Over the past two months, our reconnaissance satellites in Europe and North America have been photographing a flurry of unknown activity from a number of the RM Corp's satellite factories, namely Northern Ireland, Portugal, Cuba and Eastern Canada. Alliance Command in Berlin tried to further confirm this, but they couldn't figure out what the RM Corp was exactly up to: Their attempts to probe further into what was going on in the factories simply couldn't turn up anything incriminating. For all we know...the RM Corp weren't building anything of note, or even of any _substance_ there."

Damien looked up at Saul thoughtfully, his voice tinged with a notable French accent. "Could ze Corp be producing Krang Chips again?"

"Unlikely; We couldn't find any Krang Ore at those facilities, at least not nearly enough to explain the amount of production going on in those factories." Saul simply answered; There was nothing to point to the RM Corp restarting their highly controversial 3A upgrade program from Paradim's time, which seemed to do very little for the 3As with them installed (aside from a notorious tendency to 'malfunction' at the most convenient times; After Paradim's death, the Krang Chip program had been mostly discontinued). Partially, Saul shook his head derisively, the Alliance had Ziv Zulander's activities - _God bless the Zulanders' departed souls, wherever they are now_, Saul thought briefly - to thank for that one. "Therein, however, lay the problem."

"What is it, sir?" Kaylie asked.

"For the past two months the factories were in full swing for no apparent reason, but only three days ago, all production in those factories suddenly _stopped_," Saul sighed, lowering his head slightly. "There's been absolutely no activity from those factories since then, and when our scouts moved in a day later into the RM Corp's factory at Belfast, they found the entire facility virtually _abandoned_, and even the Security Bot patrols there had been shipped out; We checked the other factories to find the exact same thing. Their mainframes in those factories had also been purged of everything of substance, but Alliance Command's Data Recovery experts have been able to recover one thing from the destroyed mainframe at the Corp's Lisbon factory: a Navigation Point somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Whatever they were building there, the Corp had shipped them out in a hurry and burnt the factories down behind them."

"Did we find anything at ze Nav Point, sir?" Damien quickly interjected.

"Only four completely empty RM Corp transports scuttled and sunk en-masse just yesterday, their navigational computers completely purged as well," Saul sighed. "And then...nothing. We could only conclude that in order to elude our intel, the Corp had off-loaded the finished cargo into some kind of stealth submarine, similar to the _Liberation_, and scuttled the other transports behind it to avoid being traced. The RM Corp has really taken great care to throw us off this time. We would've lost them entirely...had our _own_ intelligence agent at Megacity not detected the increased flurry of activity at Point Zero at the same time, and noted that Point Zero seemed to be hastily preparing for the arrival of some kind of transport by way of the sea. It's too big of a coincidence not to be ignored."

Damien nodded grimly.

"Does Alliance Command have any idea at _all_ what the Corp might be trying at Point Zero?"

"Our agent's already confirmed for us that the RM Corp's R&D Sector had already been testing some kind of new Power Booster to exponentially increase Particle Blaster intensity there, among other experiments; By itself, we can't implicate the RM Corp of anything. However, Alliance Command is prepared for the worst:" Saul bit his lip, turning his head slightly to stare evenly at his teammates with a grim expression. "We have reason to believe that the RM Corp might be trying to assemble, and field test, an entirely new model of Massive Destruction Bot at Point Zero."

That suspicion caused the entirety of the Black Crows to murmur hastily amongst themselves, a grim mood hanging over their shoulders at Saul's words.

It was indeed worse than they thought.

"B...but sir! The Corp can't do that! They're not _allowed_ to!" Kaylie quickly interjected, her voice loud and demanding as she turned her gaze back at Saul with eyes blazing in anger; Saul nodded in understanding, privately knowing Kaylie's reasons for her _venomous_ hatred of the RM Corp's Massive Destruction Bots ever since ten months ago. "The RM Corp is _prohibited_ from having MDBs, much less _developing_ them, ever since the end of the Frame War - and if they really have one, they'd be in direct violation of the Rouen Treaty!"

Saul bit his lip unhappily at that. "I know, Kaylie. I don't like it any more than you do."

_All_ of the Black Crows (himself included) had been veterans of the brief, yet influential 'Frame War' and had taken a great part in fighting the RM Corp's invasion forces tooth and nail during the conflict. Ironically, it was the pyrrhic end of the Zulander Uprising a year ago (on the ever-infamous Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day tomorrow, no less) that brought about that particular conflict a month after that. The failure of Ziv Zulander's struggle against the Corp had only brought about even more enemies when the City of Calais, previously in negotiations with Paradim to officially allow the RM Corp to develop the city by building their factories and facilities there, suddenly reneged after Paradim's death and refused the Corp entry; In response (and perhaps coerced by Paradim's remnant hardliners in the RM Corp after Paradim's death), Lady Frenzy promptly (and _uncharacteristically_) ordered Dr. Hiss and the RM Corp's own Greenbot armies into Calais to 'garrison' the city, driving the other European nations into an outrage. This outrage, allied together by the voice of Paradim's political archenemy, African President Bando, would then bring about the nine-month long 'Frame War' in France.

At first, as Dr. Hiss freely unleashed his most dreaded secret weapon - the overwhelmingly powerful Massive Destruction Bots - onto the unprepared European armed forces in Calais, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Paris, Rouen and even Versailles, the RM Corp had a massive advantage at first; Hiss believed the conflict would end quickly once he managed to destroy morale amongst the hastily-formed 'European Alliance of Human Freedoms' and caused the Alliance to break apart from within. President Bando, however, was not so easily defeated, and under his leadership, the Alliance held firm; Four months after the outbreak of the Frame War, the first of the Human-piloted Humanoid 'Mecha Frames' appeared - standing at only 5 meters tall but nonetheless packing enough specialized weapons to take down even the Corp's coveted MDBs with ease of construction and numbers - in order to counter the Corp's advantage of numbers pound-for-pound. These new vehicles, which gave the Frame War its name, gradually turned the tide against Dr. Hiss and caused him to lose his prized position as Chief of Research and Development in the RM Corp to Professor Stark, who then replaced Hiss with more competent (but just as hardlined) military leaders; Although the RM Corp would then briefly turn the tide by constructing their _own_ Mecha Frames and hiring Human Mercenaries to pilot them in pitched high-speed Frame Battles (including the mysterious, undefeated RM Corp ace Frame pilot known only as the 'Red Frame'), it was too little, too late and the Alliance presevered, pushing the Corp forces out of France and even as far as Belfast during the ending weeks of the war. With the RM Corp's prestige and finances seriously depleted and most of its standing forces destroyed against the Alliance's veteran Mecha Frame pilots, Lady Frenzy was forced to sue for peace.

And hence the Rouen Treaty was formed and hastily signed between President Bando and Lady Frenzy. Under the Rouen Treaty, the RM Corp was allowed to keep its holdings in Northern Ireland and Portugal as well as to remain completely intact in North America as a corporate superpower, but the RM Corp's special weapons were seriously restricted; all remaining MDBs, furthermore, were to be mutually destroyed by both the RM Corp and the European Alliance, and the RM Corp was henceforth restricted from building or developing any MDBs of their own, or any other type of war vehicle above 7 meters in height. The very _moment_ the Rouen Treaty was signed and the last RM Corp Greenbot was withdrawn from Calais, however, the Alliance had already been vigilantly monitoring the RM Corp with pitched surveillance, as if they knew that the RM Corp - if Ziv Zulander had been right about the RM Corp's ambitions for world domination, and the Frame War had proven that Zulander had been right about a _lot_ of things before he was killed, after all - wouldn't stop there.

The Black Crows just didn't think that the RM Corp would dare directly violate the Rouen Treaty so _soon_...or so _blatantly_, at any rate. "If the Corp really _does_ have a prototype MDB at Point Zero, how are _we_ expected to actually destroy it if it attacks us?" Kaylie demanded furiously. "We're only equipped with _one_ anti-MDB Rail Cannon amongst the _five_ of us and it hasn't even been assembled yet! If that MDB comes after us, we'll be sitting ducks against it!"

"That's the _good_ news, Kaylie, because time is on _our_ side for this one." Saul continued, forcing himself to keep collected and, in response, his teammates fell quiet to listen to their Squad Leader as well. "Thanks to our agent on the ground at Megacity, we have good cause to believe that their convoy, along with all of the modules they've off-loaded from the four scuttled transports, will arrive at Point Zero tonight; And coincidentally, tomorrow is their accursed Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day as well. If the RM Corp really _is_ developing an MDB in direct violation of the Rouen Treaty, President Bando and Alliance Command wants to use that day to hang Lady Frenzy with her own rope: they want the Prototype MDB as a clear message that the only way to trust the RM Corp is to destroy it entirely.

"Therefore...the Black Crows are going to attempt to hijack this convoy before the RM Corp can do anything with its cargo."

The Black Crows nodded in unison.

"Once the _Liberation_ beaches at the first waypoint," Saul continued, pointing at the zoomed-out holoscreen with one finger as a number of flashing blue dots appeared on the map, his index finger pressing against the blue dot on the shoreline northeast of the city. "We'll take our Mecha Frames south under cover of darkness, and rendez-vous with our ground agent directly north of Point Zero; She'll brief us on the current situation at Point Zero before we proceed with our mission." Saul's finger traced downwards, to a second blue dot just above where Point Zero is supposed to be; Tapping the holoscreen, the map zoomed back into a top view of the facility itself, surrounded on the north and south by steep cliffs and on the east by the shoreline. Saul's finger then moved back up and right towards a blue dot on the north cliff, overlooking Point Zero.

"After we're briefed by our agent, Damien, Sonny and I will take our Frames up to this point overlooking Point Zero and obtain visual surveillance of the base, as well as confirmation that the convoy and our target cargo has indeed arrived; John, you and Kaylie will take up position to the northwest and prepare to charge down the west perimeter on my command," Saul traced his finger left, towards the designated blue dot. "Once we've obtained confirmation of the cargo, I'll move down the cliff on the east shoreline to this position," Saul's finger moved towards the final blue right on the shore, directly northeast of Point Zero itself. "And on my mark, Damien and Sonny will knock out Point Zero's communications and sensor arrays while the rest of us attack directly. Kaylie, you and John will move in from the west, and I'll move in from the east; Sonny, you'll give us cover fire during that phase, and I'll move in and plant a transceiver on the convoy. Once I do, Damien will hack into the convoy's control system and remotely drive it out towards the west before we move it north, and once the convoy is out of Point Zero's perimeter, we'll all fall back and rendez-vous with the stolen convoy. The _Liberation_ will meet us at dawn at the same waypoint, and our technicians will be standing by there to assemble the Prototype MDB ourselves and send it into Megacity."

"That's all there is to it. Any questions?"

The Black Crows shook their heads in unison; If nothing else, Saul's assuring, stern voice always managed to make even the most _impossible_ missions sound safe. Saul nodded, having anticipated that answer; As one of the most elite Black Ops Frame Teams in the European Alliance, his men knew what they were doing, and the Black Crows certainly hadn't survived the Frame War by being clueless. "We'll be nearing the first waypoint in 90 minutes, so make your toilet runs and whatnot, then get to your Frames and start booting them up. Get right on it, everyone. Dismissed."

At that, the other Black Crows stood up individually - John and Sonny stretching themselves with a groan in response to the cramped space of the _Liberation_'s 'Briefing Room', while Damien turned to turn the dial back upwards to brighten the lighting again - saluted Saul, and began filing out of the room in unison after Sonny cranked the door hatch back open. Saul was soon left alone in the Briefing Room, and after weaving his own way through the benches and messy table, Saul found himself pausing wistfully at the hatch opening. Turning his head back towards the holoscreen with a frown, Saul was reminded again of how much exactly weighed on the success of the Black Crows' mission; President Bando himself had stated that it was _imperative_ that the Black Crows succeeded on this mission, almost _adamant_ on the Black Crows doing their utmost best to complete it.

In a way, Saul realized as he closed his eyes briefly to recompose his thoughts, President Bando had been militant about completely destroying the RM Corp for good, even in the current peacetime: while Bando had been Paradim's most outspoken political opponent when Paradim was still alive and running for World Presidency, Bando had become the RM Corp's sworn, unbending archnemesis after Paradim and Zulander were dead. Perhaps, Saul didn't fault the European Alliance's most well-known leader for, President Bando felt that he _personally_ owed it to Ziv Zulander to finish the RM Corp once and for all where he himself failed, a sentiment Saul agreed with - It was only when the MDBs first terrorized his fellow Alliance troops that day on the Calais front did Saul actually appreciate what Zulander had started for them. Zulander was the only person who ever actually _stood_ a ghost of a chance at defeating the RM Corp where it counted, and by the time the other nations realized this, it was far too late...

Saul understood perfectly what President Bando wanted, and he himself agreed with a nod as he opened his eyes and walked into the cramped corridors of the _Liberation_ to start up his own Mecha Frame - if the RM Corp was truly building another MDB of their own at Point Zero, Saul _will_ see the end of the RM Corp for it, and Saul will _personally_ place that bullet through Lady Frenzy's heart to do so if that was what finishing the Corp finally came to.

* * *

RM Corp Boys' Boarding School, 8:30pm

_Beep Beep Beep._

_Beep Beep Beep._

_Beep Beep Beep._

_Beep Beep Beep._

_Beep Beep Beep-_**Slam.**

_Oh, it's time already_, Fritz Lasalle realized even before his left hand slammed onto the top of his grey alarm clock placed next to his work desk, leaning backwards with a stretch on his reclining chair and a quick yawn. It was an apparently known fact that Fritz Lasalle, one of the best and brightest of his Sixth Grade class, usually locked himself inside his dormitory room to study at around 8pm and would pretty much _never_ come out until the morning; Fortunately for Fritz, he also happened to be a fast worker, and homework was never much of a problem for him when he didn't have any projects to worry about as well. Keith trusted Fritz enough to never check on Fritz when he was 'studying', either, and while Fritz appreciated Keith's unconditional trust and felt bad about deceiving him about this...

_It's time to go. It'll be here soon..._

Which, of course, gave Fritz that opportunity to do what he's been doing for the past two months - the routine that he's settled himself into in secret. Standing up, Fritz stretched himself again and ran quietly over to his bed propped against the north side of his room, falling onto his hands and knees as he crawled low and reached his left arm underneath his bed, waving it back and forth to search; Eventually, he found what he was looking for, and Fritz sighed in relief as he yanked his left arm back out and bent back upwards over his knees, holding a small, carefully-packed blue knapsack in his hands.

Looking down at the knapsack, Fritz grinned proudly. He knew the Cleaning Bots _never_ checked that far underneath the bed in the afternoon cleaning and inspection sessions; Due to a defect in their design, the tops of their vacuum arms caught onto the bottom edge of the bed (if Fritz lowered the bed _just_ low enough that the Cleaning Bots' visual sensors couldn't see that far in, either) and simply couldn't reach that far. _One more thing to thank Dr. Hiss for_, Fritz giggled at that for a moment, and with a quiet frown, he turned towards the one low open window at the very center of his room. _And *this* I have me being so __**small**__ to thank_.

A larger child wouldn't have had been able to fit through that window, but Fritz, being so small, squeezed through with no problems. Sliding his body sideways after dimming the lights in his room, Fritz simply rolled himself lazily over the open window as he took a deep breath, squeezing himself belly-first on the window frame as Fritz then allowed himself to fall off the window, through the five foot fall dragging his knapsack with him in his right hand, and onto the neatly-trimmed grass underneath him. "Oof!" Fritz slightly gasped, and with a sudden urgency he paused, rolled his eyes left and right in shock, and pursed his lips quietly; It was only moments later, when nothing came at him and no whirring sounds of Groundskeeping 3As could be heard near him to signal that Fritz had been discovered, that Fritz finally gave a small sigh of relief and crouched back onto his knees to take a good look.

He was now in the northern courtyard of the RM Corp Boys' Boarding School, with nothing but grass, more grass, and about 50ft of distance from Fritz's side of the dormitory to the northernmost wall and his next objective on this excursion: A trimmed pile of artificial bushes, a carefully dug hole through the grass that went right underneath the wall, and a virtual blind spot in the Boarding School's security cameras. That is, Fritz inwardly hoped as he bit his lip and closed his eyes to wish, if the RM Corp hadn't discovered and patched that blind spot up already...

Opening his eyes, Fritz took a deep breath. He didn't have much time left on his buffer. Then another breath, and another...and finally, bracing himself, Fritz kept himself low and began sprinting across the open grass towards the bush opposite him.

_Please still be there please still be there please still be there..._

After what seemed like an unnecessarily long time, Fritz managed to clear his desperate distance, slide on the grass, and finally roll behind the bush with a slight pause; Still no alarms or Groundskeeping Bot sounds greeted him, so Fritz concluded that the blind spot must still be working. Then crawling onto his hands and knees again as he turned himself towards the wall, Fritz looked down...and sighed in audible relief again. The hole was still there, and it was still a simple matter for Fritz to smirk at the RM Corp's apparent laziness, roll his petite form through the hole while hugging his knapsack to his chest with both hands, and emerge from underneath the wall into the concrete sidewalk on the other side.

_Whew_! Fritz sighed again as he stood up on the sidewalk and brushed himself off, ignoring the few passers-by as they stared and blinked at him incredulously - they had little reason to care, anyway - and stopped at the edge of the sidewalk of the rather empty street; Fritz stared at both sides left and right as he shifted his knapsack over to his back before, satisfied that he could make it across, the boy finally broke into a quick run across the street. _So far so good..._

Stopping at the mouth of an alleyway directly across the Boarding School and crouching low beneath the first few windows, Fritz took a quick look at his watch. _8:35pm_.

..._and just in the nick of time_!

With a deep breath, Fritz ducked further into the alleyway and waited; This was the _crucial_ part of the entire endeavor, and only a few minutes after Fritz waited, the long-awaited sounds of a truck approaching the alleyway could be heard, drawing closer, and closer...and Fritz nodded to himself as he fought to keep calm. This part, requiring Fritz to move quickly, always unnerved him even though he's been doing the same thing for over three months now; If he had time to plan Fritz could usually feel confident enough, but when under sudden pressure, Friedrich Lorraine Lasalle had a tendency to _panic_ uncontrollably. That was why he _hated_ surprise tests with a passion.

_Okay, okay, here it comes, here it comes..._

Soon enough, a standard issue Megacity Garbage Truck pulled up in front of the alleyway, and the Garbage Bot stepped out as clockwork, marched over to the nearest garbage cans, and grabbed one of the cans to empty its contents at the rear of the truck. Fritz took a deep breath. This was the crucial part.

_This is it..._

The Garbage Bot began circling around the back of the truck.

_This is it..._

The Garbage Bot stopped behind the truck, and the back of the truck began opening with a loud whirring noise.

_Now!_

That was the moment Fritz was waiting for, and with the noise of the truck opening up obscuring Fritz's footsteps, Fritz quickly dashed upwards while crouching low, ran towards the truck and, when near the sidewalk, rolled sideways as he let himself fall towards the bottom of the truck...and barely managed to roll _underneath_ the truck, between its large wheels, without touching the truck's body itself. The Garbage Bot was oblivious, and as it went for a second trash can, Fritz grabbed onto the underside of the truck with his hands and feet propped onto the railings, hugged himself across the beam, and lifted himself up above the ground as he rolled his body upwards, now perched onto the underside beams and resting on them belly-first, barely managing to squeeze himself and his knapsack into the narrow crawlspace.

Fritz gave a quiet breath and inwardly cheered with a blink of his eyes. _Success! And now to wait..._

A moment later, the Garbage Truck began moving again along the roll, unknowingly carrying its little hitchhiker with it as it made its final few stops along the northeast side of the Megacity, towards the outskirts. Every time it stopped, Fritz bit his lip in apprehension, worried that somehow he might've been discovered; But the Garbage Bot simply moved on as programmed, as did the Truck. Fritz hadn't been found.

Eventually, after a _long_ trip, a sudden lull in the Garbage Truck as it kept going without stopping told Fritz that the Truck had finally moved out of the Megacity itself. With that pause, Fritz allowed himself to smirk wryly and reminisce on how he came to make this journey non-stop for the past two months; It began as an innocent bet between him and Keith three months ago when Fritz brought up that he could sneak out his window and nobody would _ever_ find him (or realize that he was gone until the morning), as Fritz had inadvertently discovered a blind spot in the RM Corp's surveillance cameras while outside on field activity one day - right outside his own dorm room, no less! What was initially a bet turned into much more as Fritz's natural curiousity flared; a week of planning and canvassing the area later, from planning the right time to sneak out the window to solving the problem of how to get over (or under) the wall, to estimating the schedules for various Groundskeeping Bots and Cleaning Bots, Fritz eventually tested the waters over the next week - he snuck out the window, then the next time he also ducked underneath the bush in said blind spot, and then the next few times he gradually dug a hole out the wall and into the streets. And from there, the entire thing snowballed out of proportion as Fritz decided to see how _far_ he could take himself, hitching a ride on the Garbage Truck two blocks and then back to the Boarding School, then another block, and then another block, and finally into the outskirts proper.

Fritz's glance fell solemn at that point on. And from there, two months ago, it was only natural for Fritz to want to see where the end of the Garbage Truck's path would take him one night...and what he found at the end of that path, he will _never_ forget. Since then, Fritz had been constantly making that visit, each and every night he could, to that same location at the end of the truck's planned path, not understanding what exactly it was that drove him. Somehow, Fritz Lasalle couldn't help it.

He felt that somehow he had _failed_ if he didn't make the trip...

A sudden drop in speed in the truck snapped Fritz out of his reminiscence as his heart leapt to his throat nervously; It could only mean one thing, and as Fritz peered left and right while holding his breath silently, he waited as the Truck eventually stopped and a sudden brightness enveloped the ground around it from what Fritz _knew_ to be military searchlights. A moment later, Fritz's eyes widened at the dreaded, familiar sight that he had discovered ever since that day two months ago, a sign that once the Truck moved past that very point...the game was suddenly very, very different for him.

Around him, marching heavily and scanning the truck while the Garbage Bot made its identification known, were the teal-painted, heavily armored feet of the RM Corp's dreaded Greenbots. "**Refuse. Truck. SA-303. Arriving. For. Waste. Pickup. At. RM. Corp. Facility. Point. Zero. As. Scheduled. Request. Authorization. To. Proceed...**"

* * *

"Black Crows" Waypoint One, 6 miles Northeast of Megacity, 9:03pm

"_Black Crows, make all final systems checks and report in._"

"_Crow 2, all systems green._"

"_Crow 3, armed and __**very**__ dangerous!_"

"_Crow 4, ready to kick some RM Butt._"

"_Crow 5, ready. Let's go get 'em, sir._"

"_Black Crows, prepare for slingshot launch, follow close on my lead. Maintain radio silence until we reach Waypoint 2._"

"_Understood, sir._"

"_Remember: Our mission is to __**hijack**__ the prototype MDB before it's assembled, not to stand toe-to-toe with it __**after**__ it has been built. If I call Abort, fall back to Waypoint 6 at once. __**No heroics**__, Crow 4, even though you've got the anti-MDB Rail Cannon packed into your Frame."_

_"Sheesh. Got it, got it._"

"_Alright, the Liberation's beached! Here we go! Alpha Crow, deploying!_"

"_Crow 2, moving out!_"

"_Crow 3, shooting for~ward!_"

"_Crow 4, locked and loaded._"

"_Crow 5, following your lead, Alpha Crow!_"

No sooner had the screwdriver-shaped _Liberation_ - with its curved, protruding bow and double doors leading right into the hanger bays that snapped open up and down - beached with a resounding slide onto the beachhead did the first of the 'Black Crows'' Mecha Frames launch with a slight rocket boost and jump out of it, onto the ground in a hover in front of the _Liberation_; The Black Crows' customized "Dwarf"-class Mecha Frames, little more than 5 meters tall with large fork-like feet, armored Humanoid-shaped hands and legs at the sides of the Frame, and a cascaded cockpit space and nose at the very center resembling a RM Corp Helibot, were all painted pitch black in singularity with the Squadron Name and, on the left side of the cockpit space, had the symbol of a red bloody crow's foot inside a circle painted on the hull, each with their own customizations; While Saul and Kaylie's Dwarf Frames were standardly armed with a hand-held Heavy Machinegun and a club-like Heat Rod for melee combat, Damien's frame was equipped with a large grey radome over its head and a variety of electronics jamming equipment at its rear, and John's frame had a pair of large Gatling Blasters over its shoulders and a pair of rocket launchers on the sides of its knees. Sonny's frame, in turn, carried a long Sniper Blaster Rifle for long-range shots and a large Power Generator and Coolant Unit strapped onto its back.

Following Saul closely was Damien's Radome-equipped Dwarf, then Sonny's with its Sniper Rifle, and then finally John and Kaylie's own Dwarves, each following the other in rapid, rocket-propelled succession. All five of them hit the beachhead and hovered on the ground in front of them just as rapidly, and soon the five Dwarves had changed directions, turned towards their left in a swerve, and began heading for the next waypoint on their list...

* * *

RM Corp Weapons Testing Facility 'Point Zero', 9:02pm

'Point Zero', once little more than a rumor amongst the opposing European Alliance of Human Freedoms, was a large military base situated to the northeast of Megacity that was located in an easily hidden valley crevice - two steep cliffs flank the base to its northern and southern sides and its eastern side ran along a shoreline where its drydock was located, leaving only one single entrance gate on its western boundary. The large facility was fenced on almost all sides with a single dark blue steel wall, and five large square hangers with titanium double doors each lined the northeastern section of the base; Arrays of six bright white floodlights on ten meter tall lampposts dotted the base interior and workspaces, and a cascading oval-shaped, three-storey high Control Center took up the southern section, followed by a gantry tower directly next to it with large radar dishes rotating slowly on top of the tower.

The Corp's prized testing facility was heavily guarded. In addition to the various portable generator machines, work tools and utility trucks lying scattered around Point Zero, a large number of green-painted tanks were scattered amongst the base; Six of the tanks were lined in perfect formation to keep watch outside the western wall, while another twenty-or-so were located within the interior of Point Zero and on the drydock. To say nothing, of course, of the number of Greenbots either milling about the base and around the walls on patrol, or keeping watch over the entrance, as well as the ten black-and-purple Helibots endlessly circling the internal perimeter with searchlights blazing downwards, dotting the concrete field of the base.

The drydock, in contrast, was otherwise empty except for more vigilant, emotionless Greenbots, and the one thing that mattered most that night: a large, dull brown cargo submarine (its cylindrical shape and frontal loading bay opening making the submarine resemble a gigantic sandworm) moored and wedged onto a concrete ramp out of the water. Standing further away with four of his adjutants similarly dressed in the same white lab coat, Professor Stark nodded and placed his hands in his own lab coat pockets as the front of the submarine slowly opened down the middle to off-load its long-awaited cargo.

"Two months of planning, coordinated production, taking every measure necessary to throw off the European Alliance," Stark smirked in delight, chuckling to himself as he leaned his head back towards one of his adjutants. "It's been long enough, but finally it's here, and only one other thing could be more..._delicious_. Have all the modules been accounted for during cargo transfer?"

"It's all there, Professor."

"Good!" Stark nodded and moved his eyes forward to stare in anticipation at the submarine...and as thoughts of his meeting earlier with Lady Frenzy and Dr. Hiss filled his mind again, Stark's smirk soured at _once_. Vedrfolnir was here, and just couldn't wait; And by that token, he didn't understand why Lady Frenzy would _make_ him wait, either, especially when everything was ready and waiting. He _wanted_ to see Vedrfolnir finished at last before Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day tomorrow - in commemoration of the _true_ leader of the Robotic Megafacts Corporation, no less.

Lady Frenzy could _never_ hope to surpass or even replace LLP, Stark inwardly sneered in bitterness, regardless of how much she learned and changed over the Frame War. In that sense, Stark was not going to let her stop him from achieving what was within such close reach at last. "The Chairwoman wants us to lock down Point Zero for tomorrow and postpone all testing activities until the day after Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day...so I'm _accelerating_ the testing schedule outright. I want Vedrfolnir assembled and field-tested with the new Intensity Booster _tonight_ at 1am - that gives our Sector four hours to put Vedrfolnir together and to calibrate its weapons, so we can't waste time."

"But Professor," Another adjutant gingerly countered, raising his hand. "Are you sure we should press Vedrfolnir into testing so hastily? We need time to connect and ensure all internal systems are in working order-"

"That's why I don't want to waste any time - this will be a historical moment for the Corp and our Sector. The sooner we can press Vedrfolnir into service, the better," Stark replied firmly, and sighed once as he placed his arms behind his back. "Bando can _have_ Calais and his Frame War; once Vedrfolnir is completed and mass-produced, he'll learn to fear us again. The RM Corp _will_ finally achieve World Domination...and the whole world will know that it is _us_, the RM Corp's R&D Sector, that ultimately made it happen!"

At Stark's words, the adjutants - some genuinely convinced of Stark's manifest destiny, others simply being sycophantic towards their Chief of R&D - nodded and murmured excitedly in agreement. Stark's smirk returned as excitement once again filled his veins...

"_Professor Stark!_"

...which the blunt-sounding female voice that rang out from behind Stark and his adjutants then extinguished just as quickly, causing Stark to frown slightly and roll his eyes in disdain. Turning around slowly and with his adjutants following suit, Stark had to inwardly restrain the urge to wince in disgust at the woman who had called him - and who Stark, knowing _exactly_ the only thing that the woman _could_ be bothering him about, could otherwise read like an open book. "Corporal Harrington," Stark forcibly saluted back as the woman's own straightened salute was crisp and, as noted, rather _overzealous_. "What can I do for you this evening?"

Sarah Harrington - a tall, pretty and slender young woman in her early 20s dressed in a tight-fitting, shapely blue-and-yellow flight suit, with dark brown hair that was combed back and tied into a bun behind her neck, light chocolate-colored skin and round blue eyes - was (in Stark's opinion, anyway) simply here because she had joined the previous Frame War just a few days too late and missed out on her chance at 'glory' when the war ended; Still itching to do _something_ of note as a hired mercenary pilot for the RM Corp, Sarah then voluntarily remained as a Test Pilot for a myriad of the RM Corp's new vehicles, be it for domestic or security use. _That_ Stark wouldn't have had minded so much, however, if not for two other interlinked problems: one was that Sarah was also very _untested_ as a field pilot, and the other was that, in addition to being overeager to prove herself to the RM Corp and earn her pay...Sarah was also as stubborn as a _pack mule_, and once Sarah was fixated on something, it took metaphorically shoving her into a _wall_ to make her take 'no' for an answer.

In this case, the very thing Sarah was fixated on was none other than Vedrfolnir itself - Stark had been preparing Point Zero for Vedrfolnir for the past three days, so it was natural that Sarah got wind of the Project as well - and Stark already had _another_ much suitable candidate in mind for _that_. In fact, the only two reasons Stark even _bothered_ keeping Sarah around were that Sarah was actually _easy_ on the eyes compared to his adjutants, and that she was still a trained Mecha Frame pilot - kept around basically as a glorified security guard in case anything went awry to jeopardize Project Vedrfolnir's progress. Neither, though, were particularly notable incentives for Stark.

"Professor," Sarah began, lowering her right arm from her salute and straightening herself stiffly, as mercenaries do - _as if it isn't already obvious __**enough**_, Stark rolled his eyes at that, causing Sarah to wince slightly. "If I may ask, sir, has Vedrfolnir's modules arrived yet? Do we have any testing on schedule for tonight?"

Stark turned pointedly around, back facing Sarah, as he nudged his chin towards the submarine; A number of Greenbots had surrounded the submarine protectively at this point. "That's it, Corporal," Stark nodded in approval; He won't let Sarah sour his good mood for Vedrfolnir's arrival, either. "The entirety of two months of work and planning here in Point Zero, all packed and ready to be assembled tonight."

Sarah blinked quizzically at that. "Tonight? I thought we're supposed to-"

"I'm pushing the field tests ahead of schedule, Corporal Harrington." Stark simply answered, shaking his head. "The Chairwoman wants us to lock down Point Zero and all testing activities for Sir LLP Day tomorrow, so I want Vedrfolnir's first field tests done tonight."

"What about a Test Pilot, sir?" Sarah interjected bluntly - _and the cat's out of the bag,_ Stark smirked grimly. "Have you decided on who will perform the field tests tonight? I'm ready whenever the Vedrfolnir is finished assembling, Professor, just-"

Stark sighed. "It's already been taken care of, Corporal."

Sarah's eyes widened as she gasped, for a moment, in notable disbelief and _disappointment_ - Sarah was indeed hoping that, having had training with Mecha Frames and pestered Stark about the matter ever since news arrived of Vedrfolnir's imminent testing at Point Zero, Stark would pick her as the prized project's first Test Pilot. She blinked. Who _else_ could be more qualified on this base tonight than _her_? "But Professor-"

"I _said_ it's been taken care of, Corporal - no need for you to concern yourself about it." Stark turned heavily back towards Sarah with a stern, unbending glare at that; Sarah, stubbornly undaunted, glared back. "I already have someone far more suitable than you for Vedrfolnir; In fact, you can say that Vedrfolnir was _designed_ specifically for her, in a way. It's all set. Don't worry about it."

Suddenly turning _furious_, Sarah crossed her arms in challenge and huffed indignantly. "With all due respect, who could be more qualified than me? Professor, I'd really like to meet-"

"That's confidential."

"But-"

"_Enough_, Sarah! This is _my_ pet project and I'll assign whoever _I_ see fit to field test it!" Stark suddenly barked in bitter anger, and as his glance and the adjutants' fell upon her, Sarah was reduced to muttering bitterly as she simmered down. "Just don't ask any questions. Now, it's settled. My mind is made up and _nothing_ you say's going to change it. Understood, Corporal?"

Silence.

"Yes, sir." Sarah half-heartedly saluted him, still seething with a low voice.

"Go home for tonight, Sarah - take tomorrow off," Stark continued, smirking eruditely at his own suggestion to _not_ have to deal with Sarah Harrington for the next day, and Sarah's head lifted slightly in protest before Stark's unmoving gaze caused her to deflate slightly again. "We don't have anything else on the docket except Vedrfolnir tonight, and we're locking down Point Zero at dawn tomorrow so there's no point for you to be here. Go home, get some sleep, enjoy Sir LLP Day tomorrow and come back bright and early the day after."

What _else_ could Sarah say? As much as Stark disliked her (and the feeling was otherwise mutual), he _was_ still her superior, and the only thing they possibly had in common was that both were _incredibly_ stubborn when it came to Vedrfolnir; This was a lost cause she couldn't possibly win. But despite that, Sarah couldn't help but wonder. What _was_ so important about Vedrfolnir, and who _was_ the candidate that beat her out for Test Pilot...?

"Yes, sir," Sarah derisively answered, causing Stark to smirk triumphantly at her displeasure.

"Then you're dismissed," Stark simply said after that, and as Sarah turned on her heels to stomp away from Stark and make her way towards the Locker Rooms to change for the night, Stark simply turned around and faced the submarines again with a deep breath, placing his hands on his waist firmly with a satisfied nod. His adjutants followed suit as, at that moment, the contents of the submarine finally emerged from the cargo bay: A single long green truck, with three connected cargo bed sections, each section with two extremely large light blue crates on top covered by a dark green cloth tied to the sides of the truck via a number of ropes.

Stark only passively watched as the truck drove itself out of the submarine, onto the ramp, and then up into Point Zero's base perimeter proper.

"Are you _really_ going to use Specimen 01 as a Test Pilot tonight, sir?"

"Why not?" The question caused Stark to turn his head right with an incredulous look at another of his uncertain-looking adjutants. "As I said, Vedrfolnir was _designed_ for her, in a way - It's only fitting that _she_ is made to field test its inaugural start-up." Stark gave a slight pause at that, relishing the irony. Who better to field test the very weapon that would put the RM Corp back onto the path of World Domination, after all, than...? "I want Hanger 5 cleared immediately, everyone - as soon as it's cleared, I want the crates opened and unloaded and for Vedrfolnir's assembly to begin as soon as possible."

"But are you sure she's _ready_, Professor? Will her conditioning hold?"

"Well, it better hold," Stark shrugged cryptically as his eyes trailed the slowly moving convoy truck, but even as he did, the hint of a wicked smile never left his lips. "Obviously, there's only one way for us to find out..."

* * *

"Black Crows" Waypoint 2, 9:16pm

Sure enough, by the time Saul's Dwarf Frame steered itself from its rocket-boosted hover into the designated 'Waypoint Two', its large sled-like feet and rocket thrusters trailing a line of dust behind it, the Ground Agent they were supposed to meet there was already waiting for them in the otherwise open, dusty field; The Black Crows were a bit more tardy than the agent had hoped they would be, but Saul Wellings had never _been_ a stickler for punctuality like most other stiffer officers were. At the sight of the Ground Agent intact and waiting, Saul relaxed as he pulled back the power on his Frame and, steering right, came to a sliding stop as it powered down with a slight engine whine - his teammates soon followed suit, lining up roughly next to each other as they, too, came to sliding stops in front of the waiting Ground Agent.

Waiting next to a small, black car, and with arms at her waist and tapping her foot impatiently with a playful smirk, was a sharply intelligent young woman with long, lively shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing a light maroon jacket with blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and jeans, along with a pair of gold hoop earrings - suitable for her line of work, but perhaps a little out of place nonetheless in an open clearing. At Saul quickly flinging his Frame's cockpit hatch open sideways to let himself out, however, the woman's smile widened even more.

"You're late, Saul," The young woman cooed mischeviously.

"Well, so quick to judge us! I'm actually hurt! You _can_ certainly give us a little more slack, can't you?" Saul countered promptly with his own smile, climbing out of his Frame's cockpit and, with a slight stretched, walked over with steady strides in front of her with a gleam of friendly recognition in his eyes; The other Black Crows promptly followed suit and began climbing out of their Frames as well. "In either case, Carlotta, it's good to see you again."

Carlotta Savoy, former Megacity journalist, reached out and hugged Saul warmly at that.

"Aargh, you have _no_ idea, Saul, how nice it is to see a friendly face like yours again," Carlotta greeted as, after awhile, she broke her hug with the Black Crows' current Squadron leader while the other Black Crows just stared and blinked at them. It was no secret to them that Saul and Carlotta knew each other from days past. Initially, Carlotta had never thought she'd actually get involved in freedom fighting again after the RM Corp tried to kill her previously for 'getting too close', much less _help_ the European Alliance do so; It was apparently Ziv Zulander who personally saved her life back then, however, and Zulander's subsequent death seemed to have caused Carlotta to have something of a change of heart - after the Frame War ended, Carlotta personally volunteered to act as a Ground Agent for the Alliance, and Saul was the operative who helped infiltrate Carlotta safely back _into_ Megacity vicinity. "I still couldn't believe that I'm actually brave enough to do something like this...or that I'm not _dead_ yet, with my luck. I sometimes wish I was a soldier, like you guys..."

Saul nodded in understanding as Carlotta's expression fell solemn and she lowered her head with a sigh; As was with President Bando, Ziv Zulander had that kind of inspiring effect on people, he supposed. "Well, you're being a big help right now just by doing what you do best," Saul comforted, hands gripping onto Carlotta's forearms assuringly and giving her a gentle shake. Carlotta nodded. "That's good enough for me, Carlotta. Taking up a gun shouldn't ever be the _only_ solution to problems out there, even in a war."

"I hope you're right, Saul," Carlotta answered sullenly. "I kept thinking I could've done more then..."

"And I'll keep telling you that you shouldn't _need_ to," Saul countered.

Carlotta nodded meekly.

"Is it just me," Sonny piped up from behind Saul and Carlotta, "Or does that accent make her sound totally _sexy_?"

"Oh, shut _up_!" Kaylie countered.

Both Saul's glare and the elbow he got in the ribs from Kaylie quickly shut him up while Carlotta broke into slight giggling. Letting go of her, Saul took a deep breath. "I wish we could catch up, but we've got a job to do, Carlotta, so we'd best get to it." Saul piped up. "What's our target objective looking like? Has there been any change at Point Zero?"

Carlotta took a brief moment to recompose herself as she raised her left hand, brushing some of her hair aside. "Your transport's arrived in drydock 15 minutes ago, Saul," She explained matter-of-factly as Saul nodded. "I've been overlooking their base, and I _think_ they're trying to clear one of the hangers to assemble that thing tonight. What you're looking for are on a really long, really big green truck with a number of blue steel crates on it; Drove itself right out of the submarine. You really can't miss it, Saul. They're in a _real_ hurry down there to open their presents."

Saul frowned; That's what he _expected_ of the RM Corp. "What about security?"

"Packed," Carlotta answered simply, shuffling slightly with a sly, almost _flirtatious_ wink at him. "Oh, what else is new? Lots and lots of Greenbots, a ton of tanks, a few Helibots...but I'm sure it's perfectly nothing you and your boys can't handle, right?"

"Now you're talking, babe," John cheered.

"'Boys'?" Kaylie sneered, crossing her arms derisively.

"Settle down," Saul simply glanced backwards slightly, retorting in a collected voice. "Well, we'll do our best, Carlotta. Anything else aside from the usual?"

"Yeah..."

Carlotta nodded.

"...there's three Mecha Frames parked near the hangers."

"Test pilots?" Saul asked hopefully.

"I doubt it, Saul...they look more like mercs." Carlotta's expression fell slightly sullen.

Saul gave a derisive frown. "I'll have to have Sonny and John take care of them," He replied, beginning to turn around to face the other Black Crows as he walked towards the parked Frames; Raising his right index finger and twirling it in knowing circles, the others nodded in unison and turned to run towards their own Frames, climbing aboard them hurriedly to move out while Saul did the same. "Alright, leave the rest to us, Carlotta - you don't hear this enough, but you've really outdone yourself this time. I really appreciate-"

"Saul, wait."

Saul stopped confusedly, wheeling around to face Carlotta again.

"There's something else, too," Carlotta began, sighing at that as she threw her hands back down gently in exasperation. _That_ was the part she didn't understand; Maybe Saul could make sense of it when he made his assault. "There's a cargo container hidden between the third and fourth hangers at Point Zero that...didn't make much sense to me. It doesn't really seem to belong there or is there for any actual purpose, so you might want to just keep an eye out for it."

From Carlotta's words, Saul didn't understand it, either - but he doubted that he'd be able to actually answer that question himself once he went down there, either. Hijacking that Massive Destruction Bot Prototype, after all, was already a tall order. "I'll watch out for that," Saul simply answered and shrugged. "Anything else you feel we need to know before we leave?"

Carlotta shook her head.

"Can you make your way over to the _Liberation_ by yourself, Carlotta? I can send one of my-"

"No, I'll be fine, Saul. You just whack that base good for me."

"Alright, then. Be careful, Carlotta." Saul answered, and ran over to his own Dwarf to leap back into the cockpit. It was time to get this done. "Crows, you heard the lady! Lock and load and move out!"

"You too, Saul."

As Carlotta then opened the car door with a gentle sigh, sat down, and turned the key in the ignition to start up her car, the Black Crows' Dwarves started up in unison to her left and, one after another, hovered in streaks of dust away from her; It was only after Kaylie's Dwarf had moved away from her did Carlotta finally shake her head wistfully and drive away towards where the _Liberation_ was waiting. Despite Saul's words, she couldn't help but feel useless and scared, just as she had a year ago; Ziv gave her a chance to fight alongside him and be with him, and she was too afraid of the RM Corp to accept it then. Now, it was too late.

Carlotta really envied Saul for having a simple answer to everything through the barrel of a gun...and for being brave enough to go through with his chosen life of fighting the RM Corp. _That's all I can do at the moment to make things right, ZZ,_ Carlotta sighed in her heart, biting her lip unhappily at that. _The rest is all up to the Black Crows now. It seems I can't __**ever**__ stop being a coward_...

* * *

Point Zero: 9:18pm

The moment the Garbage Truck parked itself at the northeastern edge of Point Zero, next to the easternmost hanger, Fritz Lasalle allowed him to finally let go of it and dropped to the ground with a quick sideways roll; So far so good, but _this_ was the tricky part. Lying flat on his stomach, facing the back of the truck, and glancing around him by turning his head left and right, Fritz blinked; the Garbage Bot was beginning to retrieve a few yellow drums of what seemed to be military-grade _waste_ off to his right. That won't be for long, of course, but the real question was...what was to his _left_?

The answer that greeted Fritz was the visible, large cylindrical legs of three black-painted, trash can-like Humanoid 'Commando' Mecha Frames...and no pilots as yet. The opposing 'Commando' Frames were only slightly taller than 5 meters and, while their cockpit spaces resembled gigantic trash cans and looked completely claustrophobic with no visible windows, had cylindrical hands and legs similar to the Dwarves. The main difference, however, was in the faceplate. Instead of a wide Helibot-like cockpit space, the Commandos' visual sensors consisted of a series of three blue circles at the center top of the 'trash can' as well as a narrow glass ring slit running all around the circumference of the top, with a single scanning camera monoeye pivoting around it.

Currently, fortunately for Fritz, the Commandos were unmanned, and otherwise dormant.

_Whew!_

With one breath, then two, then three, Fritz finally eyed the Garbage Bot walking away from his right to retrieve another waste drum...and he braced himself as he rolled left, out from underneath the truck, and quickly leapt into a low crouch as Fritz quickly glanced around again - and what he saw momentarily unnerved him for a second. There were a _lot_ of Greenbots milling about this time around, far more than Fritz had ever run into before...and things had also gotten a lot _noisier_ around him today.

Why was that, Fritz wondered to himself?

Fortunately, they hadn't spotted him yet, and Fritz managed to dash, slide, and hide himself behind the legs of the Commando Frame closest to him while kneeling on one knee. Panting slightly to restrain himself from spiralling into a panic again, Fritz bit his lip, took another breath, and shuffled himself behind the next Frame; Then, a moment later, the third one. Still nothing yet. After a moment's pause, Fritz closed his eyes, winced...and then made a charge for the darkness that was the small space between Hanger 5 and the titanium wall.

Usually, Fritz moaned inwardly, _this_ was where he possibly messed up; He was barely spotted by a patrolling Greenbot a few times during the past two months while hiding behind the parked Mecha Frames, but he was otherwise able to elude their sensors - thankfully, the Greenbots hadn't been programmed to _shoot_ an unarmed boy like him on sight yet - by making a dash for the _other_ side, jumping off the dock, and crouching underwater to escape to the nearby beach whenever that happened. _That_, however, meant that Fritz would otherwise have to head back to the Boarding School by walking a mile east onto a rural road and taking a Megacity Bus there in the morning, clothes dampened and cold with salt water.

So far, though, he's been mostly successful; He was apparently either very smart, very lucky, or a combination of both. And after finally managing to duck into the darkness behind Hanger 5, Fritz paused, crouched low into a kneel on one knee, and paused as he placed his back against the wall and peered outwards to his right. Fritz took a deep breath and inhaled. This was it.

Nothing seemed to have spotted him.

With that realization, Fritz sighed in audible relief and exhaled, closing his eyes and placing his hand on his chest. _Whew...that was a lot harder than I thought it'd be today_, Fritz thought to himself. From there, though, it was smooth sailing between him and his ultimate objective in Point Zero; The Greenbots didn't check this space, and the Helibots' searchlights usually can't reach too extensively into there. As long as Fritz kept himself low and along the walls, he was fine, and the thought of the _entire_ reason he had started making the trip ever since the very first time he managed to infiltrate Point Zero suddenly steeled his resolve. He was almost there.

Various whirring and banging noises from within Hanger 5 - something _big_ was about to happen there tonight, Fritz realized - obscured his own movement as Fritz crouched and began running across the length of the back of Hanger 5, keeping as low as he could. As he dashed with a slight leap across the very small gap between Hanger 5 and Hanger 4, however, Fritz suddenly gasped as his heart leapt into his throat in surprise; A Helibot was approaching from in front of him, scanning a searchlight down along the narrow alley space. Forced to think quickly, Fritz froze. _Oh, no, n-not this again!_

Was this it? Was this where Fritz actually got _caught_? The searchlight drew closer.

_Get down! But which way?_

The searchlight drew closer.

_Along the hanger? Or along the wall?_

And closer.

_Which way, Fritz?_

And closer. At that moment, Fritz's eyes widened as he finally managed to think; The Helibot was slanted more towards his right side, and that meant...

_Along the wall!_

Instinctively leaping sideways and falling into a hard _thud_ as Fritz lay onto the ground, curling himself up along the bottom of the titanium wall, he closed his eyes and paused to wait for the inevitable as the Helibot's bright white searchlight finally washed over his area. Fritz bit his lip. Did he make a mistake? At that point, as the searchlight passed by quickly and scanned over him while the Helibot passed by, Fritz could only nervously wait to see if he would be discovered.

But no alarms sounded, no Greenbots or mercenaries appeared, and the Helibot didn't double back, turning towards the south after awhile to patrol the rest of Point Zero.

Fritz got lucky.

"Phew..." Fritz audibly sighed and, picking himself up, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right sleeve before moving himself against and along the back wall of Hanger 4 again. Not much farther now, but _that_ was too close. Taking quick breaths to steady himself and to recover his faculties, Fritz finally stopped at the corner between Hangers 4 and 3, peered outwards...and exhaled visibly as he finally found what he was looking for.

To Fritz's relief, the blue cargo container was still there, tucked neatly in between Hangers 3 and 4...with two Greenbots standing guard and facing Point Zero proper over the opposite end between the two hangers a few meters away, their backs turned towards Fritz. That was good, Fritz realized as he quietly emerged from behind Hanger 4 and, with his small size allowing him to barely fit, squeezed through the narrow space between the Hanger and the mysterious, guarded blue container, as it had been that way since that day two months ago. It never failed him. That was why Fritz even bothered in the first place.

That meant she was still there.

And holding his breath, Fritz kept himself from shaking as he very quickly slithered out from the gap, moved behind the Greenbots while keeping his back against the container opening, and gently tried to slide open the locking bolt while keeping his eyes trained on the Greenbots and the _rest_ of the base through that narrow opening between hangers. The Greenbots didn't turn around yet...and heart pounding with both excitement over what was on the other side (and desperation to keep a level head lest his trip ended right there), Fritz shuddered slightly as he struggled blindly with the simple bolt. _Come on..._

The bolt slid open - and a narrow slit opened up between the two doors in turn. Fritz grinned in triumphant relief.

_Got it!_

With that, careful not to alert the Greenbots, Fritz carefully slid himself through the new gap into the containers while lowering the locking bolt just as gently, quietly grabbed the door, and closed it shut behind him without a single trace.

* * *

Suddenly feeling cooler than expected given the bustling base outside, Fritz finally allowed himself a breath of relief as he relaxed his body, sighed, and looked pensively around him. What he found in this container was a far cry from the rest of the base and, in fact, was out of place _with_ the remainder of the base; For one, with a jury-rigged air conditioner and padded walls, the container resembled an actual _living space_ rather than a simple container. For another...someone apparently actually _lived_ here, with a single chair in front of a deliberately stacked small 'wall' of steel boxes near the center of the container, a small steel desk on the opposite side with a single small white lamp, and what seemed to be a small mattress and blanket hidden behind the wall of boxes.

All of this was familiar to Fritz Lasalle already; He's been making this journey deliberately for the past two months, driven by some unknown demon from his past or his own natural curiousity, or both. But under normal circumstances, the room still confused him due to one simple fact - he couldn't picture _himself_ being able to live in this spartan space, much less that the RM Corp would forcibly make anyone _else_ do so. From there, a million questions emerged; What made this room so special? What was the point of this room? Why was Fritz driven and destined to journey here, night after night, and was there some special divine purpose he didn't know of?

But as he stepped slowly into the container, he cared about only one question in particular.

_Where __**is**__ she...?_

"Psst? Hello?" Fritz whispered; Nothing. He began to worry as he stepped further in, quiet not to draw the Greenbots' attention. Had the RM Corp already...? Fritz doubted it, as that would make the Greenbots outside pointless, but he couldn't help it. This wasn't right. She _had_ to be here! "Hello? You here? It's me, Fritz..."

Still nothing.

_But he's not with them..._

"H-hello...? Are you feeling okay...?"

And then, as the mattress in front of him shook slightly, Fritz paused and swallowed nervously as a dark shadow flickered on the far wall in front of him, instinctively frightening the boy for an instant...but that fear quickly disappeared as Fritz realized what that could only be. In fact, by the time the one thing he was looking for finally emerged quietly from behind the wall of boxes, small hands gripping onto the side and peering out almost _fearfully_ at him with green, wavering eyes, Fritz's guard was lowered as he suddenly felt all sorts of relief and joy at the recognition...and a small, assuringly sweet smile formed itself on his lips at the sight of his one secret friend in Point Zero.

Staring at him intently, wearing little more than a white hospital gown about her...was a young girl Fritz's age with short, unique flame-colored hair.


	3. Ep01b: The Biggest Coincidence, Part B

Point Zero, outside proximity

"_Crow 4, Crow 5, are you in position_?"

Slowing down into a painfully cautious crawl as their Dwarf Frames cut off their rocket engines and stomped forward with their feet onto the overlooking north cliff, Saul took the lead as he eventually halted his Frame, climbed out of the cockpit again with a small radio in his hand, and knelt down on his right knee to peer over the cliff at Point Zero beneath. Behind him, Damien and Sonny's Frames halted in unison to get into position as well, Damien beginning to type on his cockpit consoles inside his Dwarf, Sonny beginning to prepare his Dwarf's Sniper Rifle readily as his Frame's manipulator hands gripped and primed the rifle.

Saul gave a derisive hiss at the sight: When Carlotta said 'the usual', she wasn't kidding.

"_Crow 4 here, Alpha Crow_," John answered on Saul's radio. "_Me and Crow 5 are in position at the northwest breaching point_."

"Copy that."

Standing back up, Saul slowly paced himself to Damien's Dwarf Frame, standing next to the cockpit opening after knocking on the side glass a few times. "What'd you got, Damien?"

Damien turned his head and nodded in affirmation, having had made some surveillance photo scans of the facility below. "I've gotten ze Communications Arrays, Control Center and ze Main Power Generator pinpointed," Damien replied, tapping a finger on his own cockpit displays. "I'll upload ze designated locations to Sonny's targeting computers so he could take zem out when you give ze word, sir. And I've found our target convoy near ze center of ze facility; Tag it with ze transceiver, and I'll do ze rest from up here."

"And the Frames?"

"Right where Carlotta said they'll be," Damien answered.

"Carlotta also mentioned something about a strange container in between two of the hangers that didn't make any sense to her; You find it down there, Damien?" Saul asked, blinking quizzically; Damien nodded. "Can you tell me anything about it? What makes it so special?"

"Looks a bit odd, like it's been converted somehow." Was Damien's reply. "There's two Greenbots guarding it at all times, though...apparently it's something really important."

Saul shook his head derisively at that - while it was indeed worth checking over, Saul highly doubted that he had the time to spare to look into it _and_ hijack the disassembled MDB Prototype intact at the same time. He would have to focus on that one primary objective here; _Besides, if the Prototype MDB is for real and we get to hang Lady Frenzy with her own rope tomorrow, the madness will finally end and none of this will matter anymore_. "Alright," Saul finally concluded. "We'll deal with that bridge when we get there. Wait for my word."

"Locked and loaded, boss!" Sonny cried out, raising a fist inside his cockpit.

At that, Saul walked past Sonny's Frame, patted the cockpit glass hard a few times in acknowledgement, and finally leapt back into his own Dwarf to get himself into position at the northeastern breaching point - he could otherwise only hope that he was right: that the strange, out-of-place container there was mostly a red herring that didn't matter in the end, as long as the Black Crows completed their mission.

Once Saul boarded his Dwarf, the Frame stomped away promptly and Damien and Sonny were left there to wait for the signal.

* * *

Every single time Friedrich Lorraine Lasalle laid eyes on the girl with the short flame-colored hair hidden in the container between Hangers 3 and 4, he immediately remembered the very first day they met in Point Zero - the day he and this mysterious girl became secret, ever silent friends - as if it was yesterday...and every time he saw her, he couldn't help but feel an inexplicable, unwitting happiness and relief fill his heart.

The foremost impression Fritz remembered at first was _bewilderment_ when, having gone as far as he did in Point Zero that day, he decided to try snooping into that very container to test himself; He had expected some very important technical parts that he could take with him as a souvenir (as proof to Keith of how far Fritz managed to _get_ at that point, no less), maybe even some weapons, when he triumphantly managed to sneak behind the same two Greenbots into that container. Back then, Fritz was caught off-guard by what he saw at first; Instead of the expected weapons or 3A parts, he found a crude living space that simply didn't belong at Point Zero, _period_. At that moment, when he first saw this space, Fritz was worried that he might've wandered into some kind of illusion or trap, and he pondered leaving before it was sprung on him. And after a moment's pause, that was _exactly_ what Fritz decided to do.

Just as Fritz reached the doors and was about to open them, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring behind him, and he remembered shuddering as, inexplicably, he dared himself to turn around. In the barely adequate lighting provided by the desk lamp, that was when he first saw her - a dark outline wearing the same hospital robe as she did now, lips pursed silently, staring at Fritz as if crying out for help. Every startled instinct told Fritz to scream out right there and then, but Fritz barely managed to hold it in as he found himself biting his lip desperately; Although bewildered with no possible explanation on _why_ someone like her would be there, there was something familiar in that visage - an odd recognizing ache in his heart that told Fritz that if he screamed _again_, he would regret it even more. As the girl said nothing to him, merely standing up and staring at Fritz pensively, Fritz's next thought as screaming was a non-option was towards flight, and he desperately willed his legs to move before the significance of her being here revealed itself. And then...she walked forward, into the light.

What Friedrich Lorraine Lasalle then saw next completely eliminated any thought of escape as he found himself completely _stunned_...and at that very moment, Fritz was rooted to the ground. He couldn't bring himself to escape even if he still wanted to.

The flame-haired girl was _Fritz's_ age.

And she was _beautiful_ to him, Fritz blinked in bewilderment as a mesmerized gasp escaped his lips. His mind simply refused to believe that something that pretty would be found in a place like Point Zero, but as his heart began pounding nervously and a fluster he never much felt before - only one other girl he knew managed to ever make Fritz feel this way, but even that wasn't as intense as _this_ - reddened his cheeks, Fritz nervously glanced around him with the realization that she was very much real. She was only a bit taller than Fritz (and _almost_ just as small), and her skin was of a healthy peach tan despite whatever the RM Corp had apparently done to her. However, try as Fritz did, the girl was oddly emotionless; She seemed to be stuck perpetually with a saddened, pensive expression on her lips.

But what _truly_ drew Fritz to her was the girl's _green eyes_ - they were also wistful and pleading, but deep within her pupils, there was a shimmer inside her that seemed to be _trapped_. At that moment, Fritz's suspicions that the girl wasn't _always_ as he saw her now seemed very true to him, and he began feeling for her as well - he wanted to help the girl he saw now, and also wanted to help the girl trapped within escape. With that thought, however, came confusion.

Why would the RM Corp imprison someone as beautiful and radiant as her _here_ - and did they _hurt_ her? What exactly did they _do_ to her to make her this way?

That, Fritz remembered, brought about a odd determination that he didn't think he ever had, as if he owed it to her to befriend and protect her as best a boy his age could. Hence at that very moment, he was completely ensnared by this mysterious, wistful girl with the flame-colored hair, and Fritz couldn't be made to flee from her even if he wanted to. That day, with all thoughts of escape gone, Fritz took a deep breath and tried to befriend her, tried to let her know that he meant her no harm. But no matter what he did that day, Fritz couldn't ellicit a response from her. He tried idle talk and talked about life in Megacity, smiled warmly at her, cracked jokes. The wrapped pancake treat and bottled water Fritz coincidentally had with him worked somewhat when Fritz offered; She seemed to have a taste for pancakes and didn't mind the treat having the texture of a sponge.

But she didn't even smile back.

Eventually, Fritz was forced to stop trying that day; If he missed the Garbage Trucks leading back out, he would've been stuck there. As he left her for the night and carefully snuck back out behind the Greenbots, Fritz promised that he would be back to see her soon; He had already broken through Point Zero's security and gotten this far - perhaps he was able to do so because he was _supposed_ to meet her? - and Fritz was not only confident that he could pull it off again, but that he was _going_ to come back to see her again, and again, every chance he got until he could help her smile once again.

* * *

Two months later, Fritz was _still_ entranced by the girl with the flame-colored hair whose name Fritz did not know, and two months later he _still_ kept his promise to her to keep being her friend.

"Hey," Fritz greeted with a whisper (those Greenbots could still hear Fritz if he wasn't careful), waving in greeting as old friends do while he walked towards the center of the container, giving the flame-haired girl a friendly smile in turn. With a deep breath, Fritz knelt down on the ground briefly, reaching back to remove his knapsack and place it onto the ground. _Today's the day_, Fritz told himself, as he had every day he managed to see her for the past two months, _today I'm finally going to help her smile_! "How're you doing? Are you feeling better?"

The girl seemed to recognize Fritz by now, at the very least, and as Fritz knelt down, she slowly walked up from behind the wall of boxes and moved towards him with uneasy steps. While Fritz set his knapsack on the ground and began trying to unbuckle the top of the backpack, the girl sat down slowly in front of him with her legs clenched together, hugging her knees to her chest with both arms. Fritz looked up at that after finishing unbuckling the straps that tied the knapsack closed and blinked at her at that.

She still looked as sullen and pensive as the day they first met.

Fritz sighed, feeling himself sweat nervously at that look. It occurred to Fritz ever since that day that he instinctively, for no apparent reason, didn't want her to be the least unhappy, if he could help it; Perhaps it was also what he recognized somewhat in her, but seeing the girl this way broke Fritz's heart. _Ummmm, uhhh_, Fritz inwardly stammered, trying to will himself ineffectively to do something, _anything_ to distract her while scratching his head and _sweating_. _S-say something, Fritz! Don't just sit there!_

"So, ummm...you know Keith, right?" Fritz uneasily began, absently rummaging the knapsack for the five pancake treats he had asked for from the Cafeteria 3A earlier, just so he could bring them to her. "Well, you wouldn't know it from how he looks, but he's actually pretty strong! We were playing Dodgeball in the gym today, and it was just me and Keith against 6 other boys, and...trust me, you _really_ don't wanna get Keith mad. So the other team was laughing at us, and Keith threw the ball at the biggest kid, Michael Parker? And BAM! Keith missed and nailed him right in the head! Nearly broke his nose! I'd hate to imagine how badly I'd be hurt if it was _me_ there!"

The girl mutely nodded.

"So yeah, Keith got chewed out for a bit, but I don't think he meant to nail Michael in the head. But that looked like it _hurt_! I think Michael was crying from it!" Fritz continued, looking down at his knapsack...and suddenly widened his eyes in a surprised look as Fritz's fingers ran through a sizable hole near the very bottom of the knapsack. _Wait...this wasn't there this morning_, Fritz blinked. _When did I rip this? Oh well, I'll worry about it when I get back_. "I don't wanna imagine what happens if we ever start learning wrestling in P.E...Keith's gonna crush me into a ball if I fight _him_, I'm telling you!"

No response.

"So yeah...oh! Here you go!" Fritz piped up cheerily, pulling out the five pancake treats and two bottles of water from the knapsack as he set them on the knapsack's top flap, slowly unwrapping one of the yellow Twinkie-like treats and handing them towards the girl with a renewed smile; After a small pause, the girl slowly reached her hands out, grasped her fingers around the offered treat (and a little bit of Fritz's fingers in the process, causing Fritz to blush a little), and pulled her hands back to take small, almost _struggling_ nibbles from it.

Watching the girl in silence, Fritz bit his lip and nodded as he quickly stuffed the opened wrapper back into the knapsack. He wanted to do more for her, but pancake treats were the only thing Fritz knew that the girl seemed to like, or at least react well to. As much as it made Fritz feel like a failure to admit, it was all he could bring for her at the moment. But if she liked them, he'd bring a whole factory's worth for her if he could. "Wow!" Fritz chimed, shifting his legs to sit down in a cross-legged position in front of the flame-haired girl. "You really like these treats, don't you? The rest of my classmates can't _stand_ them! They all say these things feel like eating a sponge!"

The girl nodded again.

"Hey," Fritz pointed in realization at the girl and his eyes widened - he couldn't believe it took him _two months_ to suddenly realize that, and people said Fritz was the smartest kid in his class, even! "Do you like _real_ pancakes? Is _that_ why you like these treats so much? I dunno if I'll be able to get real pancakes, though...the Boys' School doesn't make them, and if I could, they'd all be cold by tonight. I'll try in the morning when I get back, though!"

As Fritz took another breath and shrugged, the girl only kept nibbling.

"Oh, and you know what tomorrow is? _Sir Lewis Leon Paradim Day_. Yeah. It's stupid, if you ask me," Fritz crossed his arms derisively and snorted as he felt the familiar disdain creep into his mind at the memories of that very day, turning his head briefly away from the flame-haired girl - who suddenly stopped pensively at the mention of the infamous new holiday. "Apparently, it's suddenly a big deal in Megacity because Paradim and Zulander killed each other a year ago tomorrow. I don't get it. What's so special about two adults killing each other? Why'd they even have to-"

Turning his head towards the flame-haired girl again with an angry glare, Fritz's expression suddenly softened and he fell into a shocked silence as he saw that the girl, at the mention of that day, had dropped the half-finished treat in her hands onto the ground...and had lowered her head as, for some unknown reason, she began _shivering_.

And her eyes were beginning to fill with _tears_.

"Ummmmm, eh? Wha? Whaaa? D-did I say something wrong? What? What is it?" Fritz _immediately_ panicked at the sight of her tears and, turning his head nervously left and right as his mind completely blanked itself with heartache. Fritz _definitely_ wasn't expecting to make her cry, and as he didn't mean to, he realized that somehow he's blundered _badly_. _Oh, now I've done it! Now I've __**really**__ done it_! Fritz mentally exclaimed in a hurry. _What'd I do what'd I do? Oh, I'm sorry! What should I do?_ "Are...are you alright?"

An uneasy silence developed, and Fritz stared intently at the flame-haired girl with a look of utter worry as he narrowed his eyes.

Then he heard a small sob escape the girl's lips.

_Oh...this stinks,_ Fritz bit his lip unhappily, and in front of him, the flame-haired girl which Fritz had sworn to befriend started _crying_ pitifully. The sight of tears flowing down the girl's face as she sobbed in a quiet voice was enough to make Fritz's blood run cold and all rational thought to fade along with that feeling as if his heart was sinking along with her; What was even more upsetting was that Fritz _didn't_ know why she was crying or if it was something _he_ said...which also meant that Fritz couldn't do anything to remedy that, either. It made him feel absolutely useless _and_ weak.

"Ummmm...I'm sorry, I..." Fritz began uneasily as he edged closer towards the flame-haired girl with only the thought of comforting her, making this right again, filling his mind, biting his lip unhappily and reaching out his hands gently to grasp her by her wrists...but then, stopping short of actually touching her, Fritz hesitated. He remembering trying to shake her hand in friendship before, and it was a bad experience akin to a slap in his face; She had started as if some distant memory had startled her and recoiled in utter fright at Fritz's touch, retreating and crawling desperately into a corner as if Fritz had suddenly become some kind of monster. Since then, Fritz never dared try, as if somehow she was made of glass.

It had taken a week for the flame-haired girl to trust him again afterwards - but at the same time, she had never _cried_ before, and certainly never in front of Fritz Lasalle. He was doubtful if he should ever try it again, but now, he also wanted nothing more than to reach out to her and tell her that everything was going to be alright. Eventually, that desperation won out. "Hey," Fritz cooed gently, and taking a deep breath, he reached out and gently touched the flame-haired girl's wrists, wrapping his hands around them. _Oh, why not,_ Fritz decided; The important thing was that _he_ knew he wasn't going to hurt her, and as long as he was here nobody _else_ was going to, either. But what would she do? As Fritz gently took hold of her wrists in assurance, he braced himself.

But aside from shuffling backwards very slightly...the girl didn't resist this time.

"Hey," Fritz gently answered again, tightening his grasp very slightly. "Don't cry, alright? It's okay...whatever it was, I'm sorry for bringing it up. Totally my bad there," At that, Fritz exhaled, let go of the girl's left wrist, and punched himself in the cheek with his right fist as the girl looked up at him slowly with teary eyes. Blinking, Fritz's right eye winced at that one. "Ow? But hey, I won't let anyone hurt you as long as I'm here - I promise. I won't mess up again. I'm not going anywhere, not this time."

The girl's sobbing stopped a little at Fritz's words.

"As little as I can do, I just want you to be happy, that's all," Fritz continued, frowning dejectedly at his next words. "And when I see you cry _I_ get all saddened, too. Even though I don't know who you are, or what you're thinking or what you're really sad about, I don't care. I just want to be your friend and be there for you whenever you need me, okay? Cheer up, alright?"

Silence.

"Ummmm, d-do you want another-" Looking down to grab another pancake treat, Fritz suddenly stopped as the flame-haired girl peered at him again, and he looked up with a quizzical blink. Although her cheeks were still damp with tears, she had stopped crying.

And she was _smiling_ at him.

Was it Fritz's kindness or that he had literally punched himself in the face for her? He didn't know. It was only a small, wry smile on her lips that Fritz saw then, but it was enough; Feeling his cheeks warm up by the warm sight, Fritz's own lips curled into a reciprocating smile at her. He was right, and he felt proud: She was absolutely _dazzling_ when she was smiling. He finally did it. "Hey, you're finally smiling!" Fritz beamed happily. "I like it. You look so pretty..."

Letting go of her wrists, Fritz carefully wiped the tears from the girl's face with his sleeves.

"From now on, if you want to smile, smile, okay?" Fritz winked, and as the flame-haired girl nodded with that same trusting smile towards him, he gave her a thumbs-up as he reached for a bottle of water so she could wash down the pancake-tasting sponge. "As long as I'm here, I'll keep you safe! You won't have to be afraid of anything again..."

* * *

"_Alpha Crow, do we have a go?_" Saul's radio rang out as his Dwarf continued creeping its way down the cliff from the eastern approach, towards the designated breaching point near the docks, and even as Saul's Frame cautiously held its Heavy Machinegun in its hands Saul narrowed his eyes intently and gazed around with caution. At this point, he could afford no carelessness; One slip-up and it was all over. "_We're all awaiting your order, sir_."

"I'm almost there," Saul answered, nodding. "We breach in 10, Crows."

"_Got it, sir._"

"_Sir!_"

"Damien, what is it?" Damien's hesitant voice suddenly made Saul momentarily pause - something wasn't right. "What's happened?"

Pause.

"_I can't make it out, sir,_" Damien answered, his voice uncertain and _confused_. Something was _definitely_ wrong. "_But zere seems to be some kind of commotion down zere all of a sudden..._"

"Commotion? Where's it from?"

The answer only made Saul frown in urgency.

"_From near ze Hangers..._"

* * *

"So, Stark shot you down, huh, Sarah?"

While packing some of her spare casual clothes from the locker and stuffing them into a purple duffel bag in her left hand with a notable disdainful jerk, Sarah Harrington scoffed and shook her head derisively at the comment from her teammate, who sat on the wooden benches lined up along the rows of lockers beside Sarah while looking up with a teasing smirk. After pausing a moment to swallow another bout of bitterness, Sarah gave a sharp frown and continued packing; Fortunately, the locker room was otherwise empty except for them, with its large 9 meter tall ceiling and grey ceramic tiles providing a dull echo and spacious impression, rows of green lockers scattered neatly throughout, and brown oak benches lining the edges of the lockers beneath. "Yeah," Sarah countered. The teammate chuckled. "Yeah, he did, Joan. So what about it? I swear, he keeps me around only to be a glorified security guard-"

Joan Hendley, a small-framed woman with dirty-looking blond hair tied into two neat braids, small blue eyes and a relaxed look on her face as well as the same color of flight suit that Sarah herself wore, merely smirked as she sat casually on the bench with her left leg and boot propped up on the edge of the bench; If Sarah didn't know any better, she'd say it was Joan's typical 'I told you so' look. "Oh, come on, like you didn't see _that_ coming, Sarah," Joan shrugged, unimpressed with Sarah's bitterness. "I mean, you already _know_ how important Vedrfolnir is to Mr. Stork, and we both already know that he's like a baby with a blankie when it comes to his pet projects, right?"

The mutual nickname they had for the RM Corp's disgusting Chief of Research and Development only served to make Sarah smirk a little; Finishing packing, Sarah closed her locker door with a slight slam. "I'd _still_ like to meet whoever Stark said he found to test that baby, though," Sarah hissed disdainfully. "Where does Stark **find** all these people? His so-called _adjutants_ already make me want to hurl every time I have to _talk_ to one of them as a superior officer, to say nothing of Stark himself..."

"_That_ we can agree on, Sarah."

"I mean, as much as I hate to say it, I actually want ol' Dr. Hiss back," Sarah turned towards Joan, glaring with arms at her waists as she slung the handles of her duffel bag over her left wrist. "At least with Hiss you _know_ he's disgusting right away just by _looking_ at him; That Stark actually looks remotely _civilized_ makes one wonder how many secrets he's actually got hidden under that ugly smirk of his or if he's some kind of closet..._pedophile_ or something! It's really disgusting, Joan."

"Well, what're you gonna do, Sarah? Ever since Hiss got dismissed, Stark's pretty much been given _carte blanche_ to do whatever he wanted with Corp R&D," Joan scoffed in turn, turning briefly away from Sarah to gaze sardonically down the _rest_ of the empty locker room. "Who knows _how_ many other 'pet projects' he has hidden out back in his private laboratories back in the RM Corp Building, even hidden away from Lady Frenzy _herself_? Carry on, Sarah, that's what I always say; Just be thankful for each and every day he doesn't _fire_ you - literally."

Sarah gave Joan a playfully hurt look in turn, raising an eyebrow at her teammate.

"You have _so_ little ambition, Joan," Sarah retorted, giving her a half-condescending, half-mischevious smirk in turn. Joan replied with her own half-serious scoff at her. "Well, I'm not just gonna sit here and be happy being a glorified security guard; Mark my words, Joan, I won't let Stark keep me down - he might've won this round but I'm not giving up yet! I _will_ Test Pilot the Vedrfolnir one day and take that baby out myself, even if I have to hijack it right from Stark's hands to do so!"

"Right, I bet you wouldn't be so loud if Stork actually _was_ standing here to hear that," Joan teased.

"Oh, I'm sure he's just _everywhere_ at once, Joan."

With that, Sarah gave Joan a brief wave goodbye, exhaled to let out some of the pent-up derisiveness remaining, and turned to leave the locker room and return home. Walking out of the locker room with a brief glance, Sarah pursed her lips together, finding herself just outside Hanger 5; All of Point Zero was bustling around her in preparation for Vedrfolnir inaugural assembly and tests...and she was the only one who Stark sent home, all because Sarah dared to ask for top billing in the field testing for Vedrfolnir. _I'm not beaten yet, Stark_, Sarah sneered inwardly, walking along Hanger 5 towards the northeastern side of the base - _away_ from the gates at the western approach where she was supposed to go. There was something else she wanted to do first before she left for the night. _You can't protect Vedrfolnir each and every single day_.

After a short stride, Sarah stopped to the eastern side of Hanger 5 and crossed her arms; She found herself glancing at the three parked Commando Frames off at that corner of Point Zero, with only a single Garbage Truck farther off to her right still collecting some of the waste accumulated at Point Zero each and every single day. The center Commando was hers; Despite missing the Frame War just a few days too late, Sarah frowned mirthlessly to herself as she shook her head, she was still fully trained in its use and was expected as a Human Mercenary to use it in the defence of the RM Corp's assets. Walking over and stopping beside it, Sarah took a deep breath and fondly patted the Frame on its upper torso with her right hand; At least, if nothing else, she still had _that_ to tide her over. And maybe one day, she'd get to actually pilot it in combat at last.

She looked up and down as she began circling her Commando with eyes narrowed intently, inspecting the condition of her Mecha Frame out of a long-conditioned habit...

...and Sarah suddenly stopped as she noticed something out of place.

"...What the hell?" Sarah blinked, kneeling down on one knee behind the Commando's left knee joint as she noticed it; There was something wedged into the joint, between it and the calf of the Commando Frame. What was that? It didn't look dangerous, and it was normal for Commando Frames to pick up foreign debris while out on patrol...but Sarah had her Frame cleaned only yesterday and hadn't taken it out since. With a quizzical glance, she reached out her right hand quickly, grasped her fingers onto said object, and yanked it out with a sharp tug before lifting it up onto her eyes and blinking at it.

It was a small, torn piece of blue cloth, recently ripped from something. Sarah had never seen it before, and she didn't think _anything_ in Point Zero used this kind of cloth. So where did it come from? Could it be...? Quickly standing up while still clutching the piece of blue cloth, Sarah glanced around her quickly. There could only be potentially one place for... "Hey! You, Greenbot!" Sarah waved with wide swings as she stepped out from behind her Frame and raised her arm up high, signalling to the dozens of Greenbots milling about on patrol throughout the rest of the base. After some flagging, one Greenbot marching around on patrol eventually turned towards her, its one 'eye' blinking at her. "Yeah, you, Greenbot! Get over here right now!"

The Greenbot complied as Sarah lowered her arm and looked left and right briefly again. What next? After an analytical pause, Sarah's eyes narrowed intently as she took a guess and pointed at the alley space between Hanger 5 and the northern wall. "Use your searchlights and scour down that space. Let's _go_!" Sarah demanded. As the Greenbot then complied, Sarah walked forward with it trailing her towards the opening of the alley and, as Sarah stood off to its left side, she let the Greenbot move on ahead first, a bright searchlight built into its head illuminating the area in front of them. "Right, keep walking, keep walking forward, that's it..."

As the Greenbot walked forward, Sarah searched with scanning glances around the alley space. She didn't know what to think as her heart intermixed dread together with excitement. On one hand, as a natural employee of the RM Corp, she hoped her hunch was wrong; On the other, however, as a Human Mercenary who had missed all the action and was eager to prove her worth to the Corp, Sarah was also hoping for _something_ that would liven things up for her in Point Zero as well as a chance to finally use her Commando in actual combat. If her hunch was correct...

"Stop!"

Then, Sarah spotted it, and as the Greenbot stopped itself and straightened its body stiffly, Sarah walked forward to the area its searchlights shone over and knelt down, blinking in anticipation; The Greenbot's lights were shining down onto the bottom of the wall space, in an area between Hangers 4 and 5. With a quick breath, she reached out with her other hand gingerly, grabbed at something lying at the very bottom with her other hand...and lifted both hands before her eyes to compare the two objects in them. At once, as all realizations set in...Sarah's heart leapt urgently.

It was another piece of torn blue cloth that lay on the bottom of the titanium wall - virtually identical to the piece she found on her Commando Frame. Sarah panted once, trying to fight back the exhilation enough to allow rational thought; The first piece could've been chalked off as a coincidence, but for two exactly identical pieces to be found on her Frame, and then inside the alley space a few meters away...

_We...we have an intruder in the base!_ Sarah gasped inwardly at that._ It's the only explanation!_

"Greenbot!" Sarah sharply demanded as she stood back up again, turning haphazardly towards her one single guard; If there really *was* an intruder that managed to get this far into Point Zero, then there was no telling how far of a headstart he or she might've already gotten. Was the intruder here for Vedrfolnir? Sarah didn't know, and didn't much care. But regardless...time was of the essence, and she wasn't about to take any chances on this intruder being a non-issue.

"Contact the Control Center and tell them to lock down this base on the _double_!" Sarah exclaimed. "This is _urgent_ - I think we've got an intruder inside Point Zero!"

* * *

Already busy with only dim green lighting, a myriad of large green viewscreens lining the walls up high and in front of everyone showing a rough outline of a world map and other various important stats and information in small popup boxes, and three rows of grey consoles with varying displays, control buttons and lines of yellow stick-like four-armed 3As with large round heads processing these consoles with mechanical efficiency, Point Zero's Control Center could only erupt into an even greater outroar when that very call reached the Control Center; Immediately, as Stark and the burly, brown-haired, brown-bearded man that was Point Zero's Control Center Operator standing to his right suddenly leaned forward on the elevated podium, placing their hands urgently on the grey railing before them, above and behind the rows of consoles and 3As, eyes glaring intently, as a small, repeating beep resounded throughout the large chamber. Biting his lip angrily, Stark sneered. Of _all_ the times...

"Proximity Alarm? What is it?" The Control Center Operator demanded hurriedly.

"**Greenbot. P0-314-62. Is. Reporting. Sudden. Proximity. Alert. As. Ordered. By. Designated. Test. Pilot. Corporal. Sarah. Harrington.**" One of the 3As closest to Stark and the Operator emotionlessly reported. "**Suspects. Intruder. Having. Breached. Point. Zero's. Perimeter.**"

Stark's derisive glare intensified towards the viewscreens - inwardly, clenching his fists, Stark's attentiveness intensified along with it, as if suddenly having a notable bad feeling about the turn of events. "Harrington? Where's she reporting from?" Stark promptly demanded before the Operator could say anything in turn.

"**Greenbot. P0-314-62. Is. Currently. Reporting. From. Point. Zero's. N-Field.**"

"Display the exact location on screen!"

At that, the World Map on the frontalmost, largest viewscreen in the Control Center switched promptly at Stark's orders, changing into a top-view outline of Point Zero's perimeter and various facilities within the base; The sight immediately caused Stark to shudder in urgent _fear_ - there were two cascading red dots flashing on that very map. One of them was at where Point Zero's three Mecha Frames were parked...and the other was in the alley space behind the hangers in N-Field, near the gap between Hangers 4 and 5.

It was close enough to the enigmatic container between Hangers 3 and 4 to catch Stark's attention.

"Send a squad of Greenbots to investigate at once! Verify Corporal Harrington's claim!" The Operator ordered, swinging his right arm outwards firmly as a small sneer escaped Stark's lips. "If there really is an intruder-"

"_No - I want all of Point Zero locked down!_"

The Operator turned and peered almost _confusedly_ at Stark's sudden outburst. "I-is that necessa-"

"Do it!" Stark snapped, shaking a defiant fist at nobody in particular in a loud, shrieking yell that nonetheless conveyed his message before turning left to storm off in a foul humor towards the exit hatch of the Control Center. Stark inwardly sneered furiously; Coinciding with the day of Vedrfolnir's assembly notwithstanding, if anyone found or tampered with Specimen 01 - or worse, if either Lady Frenzy or the accursed European Alliance finally _discovers_ Specimen 01's existence - Stark would tear them apart with his bare hands. Until the time was finally ripe, _nobody_ must find out about Specimen 01...much less take her away from him.

"Cancel all other activities! I want Point Zero locked down immediately and all available Greenbots and Tanks in N-, NE- and C-Fields to converge in front of Container X between Hanger 3 and Hanger 4, and the rest to converge around the convoy truck - off-load the Vedrfolnir Module Containers from the convoy truck into Hanger 5 right away!" Stark ordered with a bark, and the 3As went to work at once at their various consoles while the Operator only scratched his head at a loss as to Stark's overreaction. "I'll be right there - order Corporal Harrington to wait for me in front of Container X..."

* * *

"W-wha? Whaaaaa? What is that?" Fritz suddenly started his head upwards in surprise, almost _jumping_ up onto his feet to stand in a panic, as a blaring, repeating alarm inexplicably rang out throughout not only the outside of the container he and the flame-haired girl were hiding in, but also the _entirety of Point Zero_ as well; Fritz gasped at that, blinking. He was _certain_ he hadn't been spotted on the way in, but had they detected him somehow? Fritz could only hope that it wasn't him, but that comforting desire was otherwise an empty hope; He _knew_ that an alarm like that would probably mean the entire base would be locked down. "Have I been found?"

With only one sullen blink, the flame-haired girl looked up at Fritz while still kneeling on the ground.

Fritz tried to calm down and think of his options, but none came to him in a hurry as he took hurried, deep breaths; All he could realize at that moment as his heart pounded with urgency and a sweat broke out over his forehead, however, was that if he was caught here, what would happen to the flame-haired girl? If they _were_ after him, Fritz would have to find some way to escape; Biting his lip pensively, Fritz took another breath, braced himself as he tiptoed himself towards and stopped himself along the container doors, and peered through the gap with an inquisitive as he slowly nudged one of the doors open very, very slightly.

The front end of the container doors, at the opening between Hangers 3 and 4, were an ever-growing mass of scanning, menacing Greenbots.

"Hoooooo boy..." Fritz gasped in a whisper, quickly ducking inside with a nervous wince as his heart sank at the sight. They _were_ obviously after him now. With a brief glance with nervous, panicking eyes at the flame-haired girl as she merely blinked at him unmoving, Fritz panted at that as he continued looking around the container for a way out, inwardly trying to fight off the panic enough to bring his intellect to good use - but Fritz, inside his heart, dejectedly knew that this was it and that he had failed.

There was no escape, and the flame-haired girl would be hurt because of him _again_. "That's _really_ not good..."

* * *

"_Alpha Crow, the Greenbots are on ze move!_" Damien reported over the communicator within Saul's Dwarf as Saul was still creeping into place towards the northeastern breaching point, at the bottom of the cliff crevice onto the shore. "_Ze General Alarm's been tripped! Some of zem are converging around in front of the Hanger Areas - in front of ze Container you mentioned, sir!_"

.Saul's eyes narrowed with a sneer at that. Was the game up already before it even began? "Have we been spotted?"

"_Negative, sir. Doesn't look like it._"

"What about the truck?"

"_Some other Greenbots are surrounding it, too_," Was Damien's response. "_I detect some Loading Bots heading towards ze truck. Looks like zey'll be trying to off-load ze crates from it and move it into ze Hangers_."

"Damnit!"

Saul cursed at that unpleasant news, slamming at the side of his cockpit seat with his right fist angrily - what happened to bring this about? What had gotten the RM Corp in such a panic all of a sudden? But even though the Corp hadn't spotted them actively yet, whatever had brought this about would pretty much ruin _their_ mission as well; Saul was counting on using the truck to hijack the entirety of Vedrfolnir. If the crates were off-loaded, there would be no possible way for the Black Crows to be able to grab everything out of there. "Crow 4, what about you? What do you see?"

"_Same as Crow 2 said; The Greenbots are in an uproar in there, except those in the entrance_." John replied.

"_Alpha Crow, do we proceed or abort_?" Kaylie asked hurriedly.

Saul took a deep breath to compose himself. This was where he had to make a decision; If the Black Crows proceeded, they would have to breach Point Zero _now_ before they off-loaded the first crate.

"_Alpha Crow, repeat: Do we proceed or abort_?" Kaylie asked again.

"_Alpha Crow, what's your order_?" John beckoned.

"_Alpha Crow, I have the Comm Tower locked on_," Sonny answered.

"_Awaiting your orders, Alpha Crow_." Damien finished.

Pause.

Finally, Saul nodded...and moved his left hand down to push forward the throttle at his left thigh, sending the Dwarf Frame into a sharp hover forward as its rocket thrusters switched on in unison, giving Saul's Frame a burst of speed in an instant. In the end, President Bando and Carlotta Savoy both made the decision for Saul Wellings; They had done their utmost in their own ways to get the Black Crows in this far, and Saul owed too much to them at this point to abort the mission now.

They would have to proceed and make the best of it.

"...Now! We breach the perimeter **now**!" Saul finally ordered, and over the communicators, all four Black Crows gave their own agreeing grunts in unison. It was time. "Black Crows, proceed with Mission Priority Alpha! Sonny, take out that Comm Tower and Primary Generator; John, Kaylie, make your attack runs after Sonny fires and clear the Entrance Area!"

"_Got it, sir!_"

Then, at Saul's next order as his Frame kept its speedy dash down the rest of the slope and towards the shoreline, a sharp, bright beam of green energy suddenly lanced out from high above the cliff and, colliding with the Comm Tower next to the Control Center on the other side, exploded violently in a bright, devastating burst of light, sparks and fire - sending the remaining scorched, smoking dishes that had not been ripped asunder outright by the intense Blaster shot off the Comm Tower and plummeting down onto the foot of the gantry.

"Alright, Black Crows - _Weapons Free! __**It's Laser Time!**_"

* * *

In a single instant, without any warning whatsoever, the Comm Tower suddenly exploded above the Greenbots in a shower of sparks and burst of fire - and the Greenbots and Tanks initially gathered around N-Field and the Hangers immediately _scattered_ in a hurry to fend off the attack that had come from no particular direction as Sonny then fired another long green shot from his vantage point before anyone within Point Zero could do anything to counter it. This time, the target was the Primary Generator beside the Control Center...and the Generator exploded just as brilliantly, spraying a shower of sparks all around it and into the night sky high above as sharp metal plating and fragments scattered just as quickly, and then finally fell inert.

At once, the floodlights above and all around Point Zero went dark in unison...as did the consoles and viewscreens in the Control Room.

"Activate the Backup Generator immediately!" The Operator quickly ordered as, having just barely made it out the Control Center to respond to Sarah's call, Stark ran in a hurried frenzy back onto the podium, leaning forward while gripping the railing with whitened, shiveringly livid hands. What was going _on_ here? Stark sneered angrily at that. Were they actually under _attack_ deep within RM Corp Jurisdiction - something that had never happened within Megacity vicinity ever since the Zulander Uprising? "All Greenbots, ascertain and acquire source of disturbances and neutralize at once!"

"What's going on here?" Stark demanded angrily; Around him, the viewscreens and consoles flickered for a moment with static before switching back on along with the Backup Generator. The Operator turned and sneered with an incredulous, disbelieving look at him.

"What does it _look_ like, Professor? _We're under attack, that's what_!" The Operator snapped back before turning back to face the viewscreens. The frontal viewscreen immediately switched to a top view of Point Zero's vicinity as everything switched back on with an audible, slight whine - at once, five flashing red dots could be seen at various points to the north of Point Zero, all of them converging towards the base proximity. "What are they? I want them identified!"

"**Helibots. Report. Visual. Confirmation. And. Scanning. Of. European. Alliance. Mecha. Frames. Dwarf-class.**" A 3A answered promptly. "**Five. Targets. Acquired.**"

_They're here for Vedrfolnir_, Stark realized, sweating within his lab coat as he watched the viewscreens helplessly. _They're trying to take __**that**__ away right at the very moment_! "All Greenbots intercept and destroy the Alliance Frames at once - get Corporal Harrington and the other Mercenaries to their Commandos! The Alliance must _not_ destroy Vedrfolnir; Stop them from breaching Point Zero at all costs!" Stark demanded, shaking his right fist. "And what're you doing? Contact Megacity Security! Call for reinforcements here at once!"

"**Communications. Relay. Damaged.**" Was the reply. "**Long. Range. Communications. Disabled. Cannot. Request. Reinforcements. From. Megacity.**"

Stark barely managed to restrain the urge to kick the railing with his leg at that.

"_Damn it all!_"

* * *

"Crow 4, moving in to breach the west entrance! Let's fry 'em good!"

As John and Kaylie's Frames emerged from behind the slope and began dashing on rocket thrusters towards the western approach of Point Zero, they were greeted by a hail of red blaster fire as the six RM Corp Tanks positioned along the entrance and western wall trained their cannons towards them; In front of the tanks, approximately twenty Greenbots were walking intimidatingly forward with arm blasters raised in front of them, trying to create a defensive perimeter. When the first red blasts landed, John and Kaylie's Frames scattered, John's to the left, Kaylie's to the right, strafing evasively as the shots exploded beside them in clouds of scorched dirt. Suddenly swerving right, John hissed as another volley of blasts passed by beside him.

"Crow 5, take out those Greenbots with your Machinegun! I'll take care of those damn tanks!"

"Got it!"

Then, sidestepping another volley of red tank beams, John and Kaylie's Frames swerved in the opposite direction together...and they crossed each other as they finally attacked. Narrowing her eyes in anger, Kaylie took aim with her Dwarf's targeting reticle, raised her Heavy Machinegun, and squeezed the trigger; A noisy, booming flash of light and gunfire erupted from the barrel and tore into a good portion of the row of Greenbots as Kaylie's shots swept across their formation, shredding them into various torn husks on the ground or causing them to explode outright in a hail of shells.

At that, both Frames rocketed forward as a visible hole appeared in between the Greenbots, the Greenbots' blaster shots blazing around them with some of the shots bouncing ineffectually off the Dwarves' armor plating, and slammed through the remaining line of Greenbots with a slight, violent shudder, trampling two hapless Greenbots that were in their way and hovering past them altogether.

The ground behind them exploded as another tank volley lanced by them, causing Kaylie and John to scatter left and right respectively in another strafing manuever. "Crow 4, shoot down those tanks already!" Kaylie frowned sharply.

"Okay, okay, keep your britches on, harpy! _Yeaaaaaaaaaaaa~_!"

John's Frame suddenly bent forward slightly as it spun once, faced the row of tanks to his right, and brought the large Gatling Blasters over the Frame's shoulders to bear with two of the tanks; With a loud, defiant cry, John pressed the trigger, and with only a moment's pause as the barrels of the Gatling Blaster spun and began whining...a rapid burst of intense green beams erupted from both barrels and lanced into two of the Corp Tanks in front of John, annihilating them in brief explosions. At the same time, still moving towards the entrance as John turned further right to slice the Gatling Blaster into the third remaining tank on his right, Kaylie suddenly wheeled her Dwarf around and turned a 180 to face the pursuing Greenbots behind her while strafing backwards, red fire dancing around her Frame. She squeezed the trigger again with a hiss, sending another hail of fire that mowed down another three Greenbots.

A fourth volley of intense tank blaster fire descended around Kaylie, momentarily enveloping her Frame in smoke and dust from the explosions, as she kept firing behind her and John to shoot down two more Greenbots in the process; To her right flank, the three remaining Corp Tanks in the area had begun moving forward and were trying to block the entrance gate altogether. Kaylie did not have long to turn around again, however, before John's Dwarf had already shot by her - the tanks' fire were otherwise too inaccurate to land substantial hits on the small, manueverable Mecha Frames, and as John gave _another_ dramatic yell (causing Kaylie to roll her eyes in disgust; _Get on with it already_, she thought to herself) and squeezed the trigger, the Gatling Blasters sent forth another spray of beams and promptly solved that dilemma with three rapid, ignoble explosions where the beams slammed into the fronts of the tanks.

At that moment, with only sporadic Greenbot blaster beams blazing behind them ineffectively, Kaylie and John promptly turned around in unison towards the one main obstacle keeping them from Point Zero: the dual grey titanium doors, with a guard tower and camera-eyed Security Bot lining each edge of the gates. "Blowing the gates, Alpha Crow!" John exclaimed, and as his left hand flickered on other controls, he squeezed the trigger again; This time, with the cockpit area leaning upwards this time, a spray of rockets erupted from the knee rocket pods instead and slammed into the titanium doors, exploding brilliantly in multiple fireballs on impact, while Kaylie aimed her Dwarf's Heavy Machinegun upwards and fired another sweeping spray, from left to right, at the two guard towers, shredding them and their inhabitants where they stood from left to right.

When the flames and black smoke from the rocket attack cleared enough, there was now a sizable, scorched and partially-melted hole in between the wrecked titanium doors. "Got 'em! Reloading!" Snapping the empty, smoking cartridge out from the underside of the Heavy Machinegun, Kaylie's Dwarf Frame quickly locked the rifle onto the right side of the cockpit space, allowing the mechanisms there to automatically reload it before taking the Machinegun back into its hands.

"Alpha Crow, the gates have been blown apart," John reported, his and Kaylie's Frames lining up at maximum hover speed to charge into the new hole. "Me and Crow 5 will breach the perimeter in 15 seconds-"

A dense spray of red beams suddenly rained down from above, in front of John and Kaylie, and forced the two Frames to scatter in opposite directions evasively as both were promptly pursued by another continuous burst of red blaster fire, kicking up dirt in a deadly line of small explosions. Kaylie gasped, looking upwards in disdain at that; Three Helibots had seemingly responded to the breach and were pursuing them from above, searchlights shining down on them. Kaylie cursed inwardly; the Helibots' shots weren't as powerful as the Corp Tanks, but they were more accurate and were stronger than the Greenbots' ineffectual fire - not enough to cause significant damage to the armor plating, but just enough to be able to pierce the Dwarves' cockpit glass and kill the pilots within _instantly_, if they weren't careful.

"They're trying to pin us down! Crow 3, take down those Helibots above us!" Kaylie demanded sharply. "Get them off our backs!"

* * *

"Right, right. You know what they say about patience, though..." Sonny frowned and rolled his eyes at Kaylie's sudden disdainful demand, taking brief aim from the top of the north cliff at the three Helibots firing down at John and Kaylie; Another sharp green beam lanced out from the end of Sonny's Sniper Rifle and into the centermost of the three Helibots, piercing the hapless unit down the middle and causing it to explode internally in a dull fireball; With practiced movement, Sonny quickly primed the rifle again after pulling it back slightly, took aim again, and fired another shot to shoot down a second Helibot from behind in the same manner. "You frontliners are all gung-ho at the briefing, but when we're on the field? It's 'Sonny, shoot down this', 'Sonny, save us from that', 'Sonny, help me', Sonny, Sonny, Sonny..."

"_Just shoot that last one already, Crow 3!_"

With an unappreciated frown and shrug, Sonny primed the rifle again, took aim - waiting for the red targeting reticle on his cockpit screens to lock on to the last Helibot shooting down at John's Frame - and squeezed the trigger. The green beam lanced out and slammed into the third Helibot's main rotors, causing the unit to spin in a plume of black smoke before exploding. "There, happy now, Crow 5?" Sonny snapped back, smirking. "Need me to roll out the red carpet, too-"

"_Crow 3, watch out!_"

Sonny didn't get to finish that sentence as, just managing to prime the rifle, a hail of red fire rained down around _him_ and forced Sonny to rocket backwards haphazardly to avoid being skewered - while behind him, Damien's own Frame drew its own Heavy Machinegun into its arms and began firing upwards, facing the seven Helibots that had now officially spotted them and were trying to close in. With a derisive grunt, Sonny aimed his Sniper Rifle upwards and snapped off a quick shot, carving through and destroying the frontmost Helibot flying towards them...but they were still outnumbered and, as the Helibots continued raining down volleys of red blaster fire at them, shredding the cliff face and ground beneath them, John and Damien were forced to evade by strafing backwards and shooting back with their weapons.

"_Crow 4, Crow 5, we're in for a fight ourselves - you're on your own for now!_" Damien reported, gritting his teeth as his Heavy Machinegun kept blazing and managed to clip one of the Helibots on its wings, causing it to waver off-balance for a moment, pause...and then plummeted down towards the western side of Hanger 4 in a plume of white, uncontrolled smoke. Three beams rained down around Damien's Frame in response, one of them coming perilously close to impaling the upper radome and cockpit. "_Alpha Crow, where are you?_"

* * *

Saul's Dwarf, dual-wielding a pair of Heavy Machineguns in each hand, promptly charged into the dock with a leftwards strafe at that impeccable moment as three Greenbots immediately in front of him were shredded asunder before they had a chance to even counterattack - breathing heavily, Saul sneered as he wheeled to his left at that, a Greenbot's red beams blazing past his left before a burst of controlled fire from the left Machinegun virtually decapitated it on the spot.

"Alpha Crow here, breaching target perimeter from the northeastern breaching point," Saul reported, swerving behind a nearby pile of steel crates with a sharp left spin, barely managing to dodge the fire from a Corp Tank behind three Greenbots before suddenly spinning back out from cover again, charging at them. Squeezing the right trigger, Saul mowed down the three Greenbots in front of the Corp Tank and, as the Corp Tank fired again, suddenly pushed his flight controls as low as they would go - sending the Dwarf ducking underneath the next intense shot that shattered the pile of crates behind it as Saul then yanked the flight sticks upwards and in the _opposite_ direction, sending the Dwarf into an incredible, rocket-propelled leap _into the air_ and over the Corp Tank in a downwards somersault.

Facing downwards and above the Corp Tank, Saul inhaled sharply and squeezed both triggers, sending the combined lethal fire from _both_ Heavy Machineguns into the top of the Corp Tank and repeatedly into its turret in violent sparks; The Corp Tanks' armor was thin there compared to the rest of the body, the hail of shells utterly shredding the weapon and body and rendering the Corp Tank immobile and smoking. Even as the Dwarf then landed behind the pulverized tank with a slight balancing kneel, Saul was prompt to rocket forward, eyes continually scanning his left and right.

"I'm going to try disabling those Mecha Frames before the Corp Mercenaries could get them off the ground," Saul answered, swerving his Frame continually from crate pile to crate pile while dodging fire from Greenbots and countering with his Machineguns when he had an opening; Four Greenbots, attempting to overwhelm Saul with red blaster fire, were cut down in this manner as Saul found himself nearing a certain Garbage Truck parked off to the northeast of Hanger 5. From the distant west side, two explosions rang out audibly as John and Kaylie managed to finally breach the gate. "John, Kaylie, clear the way for the truck! Don't let the Corp Greenbots regroup and take up a defensive position around it!"

There, stopping for a moment to reload both Machineguns, Saul paused and turned his head back towards the left briefly - behind the Garbage Truck, if Saul remembered the reconnaissance scans correctly, would be where the three Commando Frames were parked. He could only hope at this point that the Mercenaries couldn't respond quickly enough to start them up already-

"Damnit!" Saul cried out bitterly as he sharply turned right; A Greenbot had appeared behind the truck while Saul reloaded and fired a red beam at him, slamming into the shoulder plating. The beam burnt a small, dull grey scorch mark onto the armor, but otherwise didn't penetrate or damage Saul's Dwarf. As the Greenbot fired again, the next blast passing by harmlessly over Saul's head, Saul hurriedly retrieved the right Machinegun into its hand, pointed it at the Greenbot, and blasted it into pieces with only three shells from a single burst.

Saul cursed to himself. _Must be getting old..._

With a deep breath, Saul composed himself into readiness, sighed, and emerged from the other end of the Garbage Truck with both Machineguns brandished as he charged at the parked black Commando Frames in front of him to take them down at last - within plain sight of a certain Corporal Sarah Harrington who had already scrambled and just managed to start her Commando Frame.

* * *

"Is that..." Fritz's eyes widened in disbelief and surprise, peering outside through a gap in the container doors while kneeling against the inside, as the very Greenbots and Corp Tanks that initially gathered in front of the container in search of him and the flame-haired girl now instead scattered at once in haphazard, programmed response to the very disturbance brewing outside...followed just as quickly by the flames and smoke from the melted, twisted remains of the Communications Relay and Primary Generator, the distant explosions of destroyed Tanks and Greenbots, and the blaze of red and green beams around them. "...is that a _battle_ outside...?" There hasn't been an actual battle within Megacity proximity ever since the end of the Zulander Uprising, when Ziv Zulander and Sir Lewis Leon Paradim fought each other - as the 'legends' went - in single combat and killed each other that day, one year ago tomorrow-

Fritz stopped himself, gasping mutely.

Somehow...the explosions, the destroyed Greenbots, were all _very_ familiar to Fritz - it was as if the explosions themselves echoed some unknown, distant fear from long, long ago he didn't remember. That realization nonetheless made him sick to his stomach all of a sudden and, as some obscure thought welled itself vaguely in Fritz's heart at the sight, his blood ran cold and he suddenly shivered in utmost horror. Fritz couldn't move; He could only stare, his mind utterly blank.

_But he's not with them..._

_He's not with them..._

_**Not with them...**_

"I'm not with them..." Fritz shook his head, whispering absently, eyes widened in stunned silence as he absently stood up and turned around with a blank gaze. As his gaze turned instinctively towards the flame-haired girl standing before him, at the very center of the container, Fritz's eyes flickered into an _apologetic_ look as the feeling of dreaded _familiarity_ remained. The explosions were drawing closer - Fritz could've sworn absently that one of the explosions was directly above their heads. "...not with them...I..." Fritz whispered. "What...what should I do? What do I do now...?"

The flame-haired girl said nothing, but she kept staring wistfully at Fritz nonetheless.

"I don't know..." Fritz muttered, shaking his head again - He was helpless then, and he felt helpless _now_. Unable to bring himself to think clearly, Fritz looked left and right absently. They were going to die here, weren't they? If the battle erupting outside didn't kill them, the Greenbots would once they've caught them afterwards. He didn't know what to do, trapped in this container in the middle fo the storm outside. He couldn't even find a way for _her alone_ to be saved that fate, if nothing else. "...I can't think of..."

Fritz paused just as suddenly at that as another form of noise could be heard from somewhere. If he strained his ears...

He listened. Was that...?

"Wait...?"

And then, he heard it - there was a notable, screeching whine that was coming from above them.

And it was getting louder. And closer.

And with it...came the sounds of dying rotors spinning closer at them.

Fritz's eyes widened at the realization of _what_ that likely was and, as his eyes flickered back towards the flame-haired girl - he started forward at once, as if that very whine and knowing _what_ that belonged to had abruptly woken him from his reverie with another subconscious, prevailing instinct that overrid his fears and doubts: Fritz reached out his right hand hurriedly in an urgent breath, grabbed the flame-haired girl's right wrist, and tried to pull her _out_ of the container through the doors. She was in danger.

"_We've gotta go!_" Fritz cried out haphazardly, and began dragging her out towards the container doors to escape whatever was coming at them; She didn't resist."_It's coming right at us!_"

Fortunately, Fritz was right - in his haste, he barely made it sprinting out of the container doors with the flame-haired girl before an abrupt roar and shattering sound rang out from above their heads, leading her by her wrist as they both ran towards the opening between Hangers 3 and 4...and as a sudden rain of pebbles pelted Fritz's head followed by the sounds of pandemonium drawing closer, he reached back and followed the first instinct in his heart to avoid the disaster that was to come: Fritz turned, pulled the flame-haired girl to him, and dove forward - with her in his embrace - towards the ground to brace themselves with eyes shut and lips pursed.

Fritz and the flame-haired girl barely hit the ground just in front of the alley opening before the flaming, twisted, bent and dented remains of a RM Corp Helibot descended upon the container itself from above, crushing and mangling it entirely...followed promptly by a shower of drywall pieces from the corners of Hangers 3 and 4 brought down along with it that soon buried the entire wreckage and container in a gigantic cloud of dust and black smoke.

Coughing slightly from the remaining dust plume, Fritz shook his head to clear his mind as he slowly sat up, helping the flame-haired girl onto her knees as well. Blinking behind her, Fritz winced; The container was completely smashed and buried, the fate that they would've met bloodily and painfully had Fritz not pulled the flame-haired girl out of there when it counted. With the battle erupting all around them outside the opening, Fritz groggily stood up and sighed - but looking back down at the flame-haired girl and meeting her waiting, almost _lost_ gaze, Fritz's eyes narrowed with a sudden resolve as he realized that, now, his decision had effectively been made for him.

Somehow, Fritz was now convinced that their meeting and friendship was _meant_ to be - if he hadn't been here, she would've died when the Helibot fell on top of her head. He was here to protect her, and to make things right; Fritz no longer felt the paralyzing effect of fear from the battle around him at that revelation as he found himself focusing on her, reaching out his right hand firmly towards the flame-haired girl in offering. He _couldn't_ be afraid anymore - Fritz had no _time_ to be afraid. He had someone else other than himself to truly care about, even if he might _never_ know what her name is for the rest of their lives.

"Come on," Fritz suddenly cried out, staring intently at her. "We can't stay here anymore!"

The flame-haired girl blinked at him.

"Don't be afraid - Come with me!" Fritz cried out again, his assuring, loud words echoing those spoken to him so long ago. Inwardly, Fritz pleaded that she would take his offer and trust him this once - even though Fritz was only 12, he wasn't afraid of what he might face anymore - he might've been surprised by his own sudden bravery if Fritz had time to _think_ about it, in fact. After all, he got _this_ far, didn't he? All Fritz wanted now, running on pure instinct alone, was to grab her hand and keep moving forward, get her out of danger. "_Just stay with me, okay? I'll get you out of here - I'll protect you no matter where we go, I promise!_"

There was no reply from the girl at first. Fritz's eyes pleaded again.

"Please! Come on!"

After what seemed like an uneasy eternity - Fritz couldn't remember hearing the explosions and gunfire anymore as he waited - the flame-haired girl finally answered...and she reached her own right hand out and gently clasped it around Fritz's, standing with a wistful, yet trusting smile at him. She seemed to have decided to trust the one person who had shown her genuine kindness and friendship without question for so long since - in turn, she would follow him unquestioningly, no matter what happens out there.

Fritz's heart rose, and his own smile widened as he nodded.

"Let's move! Stay low and don't let go of me!"

With that, the flame-haired girl nodded once, held his hand tightly, and followed Fritz silently out into the opening of the now-blocked alley between Hangers 3 and 4 as the two children crouched low and dashed outside the smoking alley, following him without hesitation towards wherever they may end up from that point on.

* * *

"Joan! On the double, let's go!" Sarah ordered hurriedly, glaring around her with a derisive glare as she barely managed to swing open the square cockpit hatch on the flat of the trash can-like Commando Frame's 'back'; She was prompt, as she had practiced multiple times in training, to grab onto the top of the Frame with both hands, jump, bend her legs inwards, and stick them out into the hole as she then swung her entire body into the relatively small opening and onto the cushioned cockpit seat beneath her. Beside her, near the Commando Frame to her left, Joan was just running towards it. "And where the hell's David?"

"_Appendicitis_!" Joan cried back, barely audible in the explosions and gunfire noises around them. "_Hospitalized this morning!_"

"...Just great," Sarah frowned, rolling her eyes in a disdainful look for her other teammate as she took quick breaths to do her best to remember the startup procedures for her Commando Frame in the heat of battle. Sarah Harrington hated to admit it, but what had become her first effective battle as a RM Corp Mercenary - for although she longed for it, she had never seen actual combat until now - made her both nervous _and_ excited at the same time in a mixture of hesitant feelings, and it was a miracle to her that she was even able to keep a moderately level head within all the sudden chaos and manage to start her Frame up smoothly. But at the same time, the realization that Sarah was finally entering combat filled her heart with a sense of stubborn ego and pride; Her reputation would either be made or broken here with this first battle, and it didn't make her feel much better.

Having been ordered to wait in front of the enigmatic container between Hangers 3 and 4 before the base's Communications Relay was destroyed, Sarah was naturally the first of the three Mecha Frame pilots at Point Zero to respond; Reportedly, Stark had wanted her to wait there for him (_Most likely to check my story and why I would call a Proximity Alert like that_, Sarah mused bitterly). However, standing in front of that Container waiting for him, Sarah had only begun to realize that she had never _paid_ much attention to that Container - which Stark now called 'Container X' - stuffed in between Hanger 3 and Hanger 4, that always had two Greenbots guarding in front of it; Remembering what she _already_ saw of Stark with a cold shudder, Sarah had wished right there and then that she _had_ asked more questions of it before tonight (even though Stark _would_ probably have Sarah executed outright if she had, in fact). Where Stark was involved...it couldn't have had been anything _good_ or even _humane_ for any of them.

Hence, that caused Sarah to find herself at a loss as to _why_ exactly the intruder would seek out that particular container, much less _why_ the Alliance was attacking Point Zero right now with so much intensity: Were they here for the Vedrfolnir Modules...or were they here for whatever was in that so-called 'Container X'?

_Doesn't matter_, Sarah sighed mirthlessly, _the Alliance is our enemy, and it's my job as a Frame Pilot for the Corp to take them down_. As Sarah cranked a rotating lever to her left, beside her left calf, and closed the small cockpit hatch behind her, she inwardly thanked the RM Corp's R&D Sector for being so frivolous with their money - it was, honestly, the one thing she could thank Stark for. Unlike the Alliance's opposing 'Dwarves', the RM Corp's 'Commando' Frames had no cockpit glass that pilots could visibly see out of; Despite being claustrophobic, the entirety of the Commando's line of sight was relayed through the panoramic camera on top of its head into surrounding computer displays, and although it made the cockpit space entirely dark as well, it also meant that Sarah could start up the Commando without being visually distracted by the fighting outside.

_Please start up properly_, Sarah inwardly begged. She _desperately_ wanted to do her part for the RM Corp at last, and for the Commando to break down on her now would be an all too cruel joke on her. _Please start up properly, come on...!_ Then, as if in answer to her prayers, the surrounding displays around Sarah switched on in a blinding white, flickered...and finally revealed the surrounding area around her in near-perfect accuracy as the cameras switched on in earnest. _Yes!_ Sarah cheered, taking a quick breath and leaning forward as she grabbed onto the two flight sticks to either side of her.

Around Sarah, the Commando Frame hissed and whined as it finished the remainder of its startup sequence; Its camera eyes flashed once in a sinister red light and a jet of steam hissed from its arm and leg joints at that. "I'm up," Sarah chimed, beginning to turn her Commando in a rocket-propelled hovering turn towards Joan's Commando - she was still trying to start her own Frame. "Joan, how're you doing with you-whoa!"

Sarah never finished that sentence.

Just as Sarah was beginning to turn towards Joan's Frame, at that very moment...Saul's Dwarf emerged from behind the Garbage Truck in a sharp rightwards strafe and fired both its Heavy Machineguns in an indiscriminate spray of bullets. With a sharp, startled gasp, Sarah jerked her flight sticks backwards as far as they would go, and that action saved her from the initial burst; Sarah's Commando promptly burst backwards in a sharp hover as the hail of shells passed harmlessly in front of her, feet sliding along the concrete ground, and came to a sliding stop a few meters back just short of slamming into the side wall of Hanger 5.

The other Commandos, however, were not nearly as lucky, as in front of Sarah's suddenly widened, horrified eyes the shots from the left Heavy Machinegun tore into the legs of the empty Commando to Sarah's right side, blowing them clean off each other in small explosions and causing it to plummet harmlessly onto the ground with a loud _thud_...and the shots from the right Heavy Machinegun caught Joan's Frame completely helpless.

"Joan, get out of there! Eject!" Sarah cried out helplessly. "_Joaaaaan!_"

Sarah could otherwise only gasp in utter disbelief of what she was seeing. Even before Joan could move or scream for help, the shots from Saul's right Heavy Machinegun mercilessly ripped into the body of her Commando Frame, shredding both the Frame _and_ its pilot behind it in repeated, gigantic smoking holes and an incoherent shower of sparks, and tore the Frame into little more than a smoking, lifeless husk on the ground beneath it. By the time Saul was done with the Commando in its controlled burst of fire, the Commando Frame - and Joan's pulverized body - was only barely recognizable within the wreckage.

Sarah was utterly stunned by the sight, blank tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't say that she and Joan were particularly close to each other during the two months Sarah was assigned to Point Zero as a Test Pilot-slash-Glorified Security Guard, but Joan Hendley was nonetheless a friend to her, and one of the only _Humans_ Sarah had met in that base that she could actually strike up a normal conversation with - the rest were either just as mindless as the 3As that milled about the base, or were of Professor Tanner Stark's twisted menagerie of 'adjutants', glorified thugs, abominations of nature, and plain sycophants hoping to breathe in what Stark spat out in his rapid rise to power. And in a single instant, without a chance to fight back or even to fire a single shot, Joan was killed in front of Sarah's eyes by the European Alliance that, for all Sarah knew, killed her for no particular reason other than that Joan was working for the RM Corp. It was absolutely unfair.

_Absolutely unfair..._

"Joan...damn you!" Sarah sneered at that repeating thought that refused to go away and, with the initial shock and grief of Joan's death turning into unabiding _fury_, she hurriedly wiped her tears with her sleeve and leaned forward, glaring at Saul's Dwarf in front of her with now-_bloodshot_ eyes. It was absolutely unfair! It was unfair...and Saul must be _made_ to know that. "_Damn you to hell, Alliance scum! You won't get away with this!_"

Before Saul could lock onto Sarah's remaining Commando Frame, Sarah moved first in renewed vigor and anger - her Commando's right arm raised and, pointing its built-in Hand Blaster Barrel at Saul, Sarah rocketed her Commando forward in counterattack and fired three times as Saul, sneering in surprise, strafed left to take cover behind the Garbage Truck again with right Machinegun blazing at Sarah's Frame. As Sarah leapt right hurriedly to follow Saul and to dodge the hail of shells off to her left, the first intense red Blaster shot - more intense than a Corp Tank and considerably more accurate - tearing a small, melted hole into the titanium wall behind Saul; The second shot slammed into the pile of industrial waste off further to the right and ignited it into a violent explosion, sending a loud _boom_ and a large geyser of bright fire erupting from that spot.

"-You!"

The third tore directly into the middle of the Garbage Truck itself, and the entire truck promptly exploded into a violent fireball that obscured both Sarah and Saul's views of each other momentarily. First strafing out his left sideways from the view of the flaming wreckage of the Garbage Truck, Saul sneered derisively as, stopping for a brief moment, he peered forward with haphazard eyes as he tried to . Sarah's Commando was nowhere in sight. "We have a Corp Commando Frame deployed in the proximity!" Saul ordered promptly. Still no sight of Sarah, unless... "Disable it, but don't kill the pilot if possible! Try to minimize Human casualties if-_from above?_"

Suddenly, Saul looked up and, exhaling sharply, pulled his flight controls back to bring his Dwarf backwards in a hovering strafe...as Sarah's Commando emerged from the cloud of smoke of the Garbage Truck and charged down at Saul's Frame, diving towards him with maximum speed and Sarah's unrelenting, blazing eyes intent on avenging Joan.

"_You're mine, Alliance scumbag!_"

Saul haphazardly raised his left Machinegun and fired a repeated burst at Sarah as she dove towards his Dwarf, but while the hasty shots were able to blow off a small chunk of the Commando's left shoulder, Sarah gave a loud, furious yell as she managed to close the distance. A short, combat knife-like Heat Blade shot out from the right forearm as Sarah's Commando landed in front of Saul and, with Sarah glaring and narrowing her eyes at that, stabbed the Heat Blade out at him. As Saul spun backwards right to avoid the blow, the superheated Heat Blade caught onto the left Heavy Machinegun and severed it cleanly down the middle, forcing Saul to let go of the useless weapon.

"Don't force me!" Saul retorted defiantly, and as Sarah raised her Commando's right arm to slash downwards at Saul's cockpit, Saul's now-free left hand reached down, then back upwards after clenching its fist against something there, and countered by swinging the Dwarf's club-like, superheated Heat Rod upwards at the Heat Blade; the two melee weapons collided with each other and locked there for a moment in white-hot sparks as Sarah's Commando pushed forward.

Sarah sneered. She couldn't lose here! Joan's revenge, and her own reputation, depended on it!

The parried Heat Blade slash was followed by a horizontal slash as Saul raised his Heat Rod vertically to block the next blow, followed in turn by Sarah's Commando suddenly lunging forward in an attempt to stab the Heat Blade directly into Saul's cockpit - only to hear Saul frown sharply as the Dwarf in front of Sarah suddenly sidestepped in a hurry towards its right, strafing, and circle around Sarah's Frame entirely at near point-blank range. Sarah knew what was coming next. She pushed her thrusters forward and sent the Commando rocketing away from Saul's Frame as the Dwarf's Heavy Machinegun fired behind her, only finding air while Sarah's Commando wheeled around promptly, crouched, and entered another rocket-propelled jump to aim her Hand Blaster downwards at him, firing another two long red Blaster shots from it.

The shots exploded loudly to Saul's right side, narrowly missing his Dwarf's right arm, as he promptly changed directions to strafe to his left; As Saul countered with repeated bursts from his own Heavy Machinegun, Sarah did the same, following and facing Saul with her own rightwards strafe while trading shots that exploded harmlessly behind Saul. Finding himself behind a stack of grey steel crates again, Saul paused for a moment as he snapped his Heavy Machinegun back onto the side of his torso frame to reload again...then cursed himself with a stomp of his foot.

His Dwarf barely managed to shoot forward before the stack of crates exploded behind him.

_Not good at all - that Hand Blaster's too powerful. I can't take any sort of cover here against that Commando,_ Saul frowned derisively to himself, spinning left once and manuevering erratically in a continual zig-zag to evade Sarah for as long as he could. _I've got to get to that truck and hijack it as soon as I can._ "Crow 5, I'm really being hounded by this last Commando," Saul began bitterly. "I'm totally defensive! If you can, I'd appreciate it if you can get over here and give me some covering-"

"_This is it! Diiiiiiie!_"

Saul was interrupted as he wheeled his Dwarf back around, sneered derisively, and prepared himself to meet the next attack as Sarah - almost completely engulfed in a bloodshot _fury_ for the pilot who killed her teammate at this point - and her Commando Frame charged at him again with the Heat Blade raised...

* * *

Once he was _outside_ the alley opening, however, Fritz quickly realized that actualizing said promised escape wasn't going to be easy at all.

"Whaa!"

Running outside of the alley opening to the sight of an explosion erupting to his right, Fritz winced and took a quick breath to compose himself as he pulled himself and the flame-haired girl behind the body of a large yellow loading forklift, leaning against it in a slight crouching position. Moving his eyes quickly as they darted towards the left, where Fritz remembered the main gate to be from all the times he's snuck into Point Zero before, Fritz sighed dejectedly at the quick realization that he _wasn't_ going out that way, _period_. The sight of two Greenbots in that direction quickly exploding quickly discouraged him from _trying_ it anyway, either. "Okay, we're not gonna be getting out that way..."

Turning to stare with concern at the sullen flame-haired girl, Fritz tried to compose his thoughts rationally. Panicking was not going to help them find their way out any sooner. Daring himself to stand slightly, Fritz narrowed his eyes as he peeked over the forklift to his right, closing them periodically at the newfound explosions in the distance - and the sight of what appears to be one of the RM Corp's trash can-like Mecha Frames fighting another brown-painted, bulkier Mecha Frame.

Behind the two duelling, spite-filled forms of Saul and Sarah's Mecha Frames was the ocean itself.

With a sudden enlightenment as Fritz crouched back down to nod at the flame-haired girl, Fritz sighed in relief as a very, _very_ rough solution formed in his head. Why didn't he think of it sooner, Fritz berated himself? He wasn't sure if it'll actually _work_ now that there was a full-scale battle brewing from inside the base's walls, but it was better than just sitting there waiting at this point. "Alright, I know now - let's dive into the water and get out that way!" Fritz pointed towards said theoretical ocean in the distance firmly and stared intently at her, explaining the same method from which he had remembered escaping from so many botched attempts in the past. "If we can get there, we can leave via the beach, walk to the road, and take a bus back home! We'll make it, okay? Just stay close to me-"

Suddenly, the forklift shuddered as, on the opposite side of where Fritz and the girl were hiding, a few Heavy Machinegun shells from Kaylie's Frame pelted the forklift, tearing large, smoking holes into its hull. Closing his eyes shut in startled fright for a moment, Fritz ducked his head until the pandemonium stopped and quickly stood up, breaking into a slight sweat as he kept his grasp onto the flame-haired girl's hand; from the sky, two more Helibots were shot down, and plummeted onto the base grounds farther away where they exploded without any fanfare as well. They were running out of time.

"Aaaah! Let's go!"

At that, Fritz and the flame-haired girl started forward towards the ocean, keeping as low as they could, making their way towards the ocean beyond - but they didn't get much farther past the front of Hanger 4 before a red flash of light erupted in front of them and _exploded_ violently, momentarily blinding Fritz and knocking him and the flame-haired girl off their feets from the resulting force of gust. Knocked onto his rear, Fritz hurriedly picked himself up onto one knee and grasped his other hand onto the girl's other forearm, helping her up as well.

Two more red beams erupted from the black Commando Frame farther away and exploded in the same manner in front of Fritz, causing him to gasp in surprise - as he found his way blocked by the fighting in front of him. Another Helibot exploded outright high above them from a long green shot from a certain Sniper Rifle. "This way! Hurry!"

Fritz turned towards his right and moved again at that, keeping his hold on the flame-haired girl's hand. Around them, a number of Greenbots were firing intently with red Blaster beams at something off to the west of the base, running past them without noticing the pair as they tried to converge and regroup at the center of the base; Weaving behind another toppled pile of crates, Fritz and the girl paused slightly before moving forward, a few shots blazing above their heads as they did. Stopping behind another pile, they waited. Nothing. Another Greenbot exploded ignobly on the opposite side. With another breath, Fritz and the flame-haired girl dashed behind another pile. And another. And then another, as a Corp Tank moved past behind them and charged towards the west with cannon blazing only to be shredded by a prompt hail of green Gatling Blaster fire.

Finally stopping behind another pile - Fritz had completely lost count of how far he and the flame-haired girl had moved throughout the base - he looked up and blinked quizzically as he hurriedly tried to plot his next move, pausing a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. They had found themselves beside what seemed to be a large automated cargo truck of sorts, loaded with exceptionally large crates above its cargo beds. Peering up slightly from above the crates, Fritz winced; This was apparently one of the Greenbots' attempted rally points, and while in the distance some Greenbots were fighting a more heavily-armed brown Alliance Frame and trading red and green blaster fire with each other, the smoking, melted remains of a few Greenbots could be seen littered around the truck itself. Ducking back down, Fritz nodded, and pulled the flame-haired girl with him towards his left to circle around the truck altogether. Trusting and silent, the flame-haired girl nodded and followed him.

As the pair crouched beside the cargo truck and began moving along its length, however, Fritz gasped in shock and paused: a Greenbot had just rounded the corner and were now _facing them head-on_. "Wha! Look out!" Fritz cried out haphazardly, trying to move backwards with the flame-haired girl while shielding her with his own body. "Get back to those boxes!"

Scanning its camera eye down, the Greenbot raised its right arm and pointed its blaster at Fritz. They weren't going to get away in time.

Fritz gulped inwardly. _Oh, we are __**so**__ dead..._

"**Unidentified. Intruder. Detected.**" The Greenbot reported. "**Beginning. Terminati-**"

The Greenbot was interrupted mid-sentence as a stray hail of fire suddenly lanced above Fritz and the flame-haired girl's heads, recoiling violently off the surface of the crates, and slammed into the Greenbot's camera eye, causing its head to explode without a trace; Wincing and turning his head away briefly to shield himself from the small steel pebbles flying around it, Fritz blinked and sighed in disbelief at that as the headless Greenbot, fortunately for them, simply topped over backwards. Not believing his own luck, Fritz panted heavily with slight exhaustion and looked around, turning his head to and fro sideways.

"What...?"

The subsequent sight of a _third_ brown-painted Alliance Frame, strafing backwards behind the crates Fritz and the girl had been ducking under in the distance, blazing its Heavy Machinegun with wanton indiscrimination at four Greenbots pursuing it and shredding them under its hail of fire promptly answered Fritz's question. The pilot within, a large-built, blond-haired woman, didn't seem to have had spotted them yet otherwise. As Fritz hurriedly tried to take the chance to continue running with the flame-haired girl, another faraway explosion in front of them stopped him cold: Saul and Sarah's Frames, technologically evenly matched, were still duelling in front of them, weaving and charging around each other in a pitched high-speed battle.

Finding himself stuck and standing up hurriedly to glance around, Fritz's gaze found itself onto the truck. Suddenly, he had an idea; Those crates seem resilient enough to withstand more than a few hits. "Quick!" Fritz exclaimed, helping the flame-haired girl up onto her feet as he pointed at the truck hurriedly with his other hand, gesturing for her to climb on board. "Onto the truck! We'll wait until those Frames move past us and then dive into the water!"

The pair stopped in front of a section between two crates at that and, with Fritz crouching low to prop the flame-haired girl's legs upwards, Fritz gritted his teeth and groaned as he tried to help the flame-haired girl climb up onto the truck; The flame-haired girl complied willingly, and placed both her hands onto the sides of the two sections as she pushed. Eventually, she had sat up in between the crates, followed by Fritz taking a deep breath, jumping, and doing the same. Sitting beside her and hugging their knees onto their chests to hide themselves, Fritz turned his head towards her with a tense frown as he found a temporary reprieve. "And now," Fritz nodded. "We just have to wait awhile, right? I hope I haven't been spotted..."

Unbeknownst to Fritz, however, he _was_ spotted as he made his way up onto the cargo truck - and as coincidence or providence had it, that sight pretty much saved Saul.

* * *

It was the strange, utterly out-of-place sight of the silver-haired boy trying to climb onto the cargo truck in front of Sarah Harrington's eyes on the Commando's camera screens that caused her to pause in noncomprehension and utter _confusion_ for a moment, and as she found herself pausing for a moment at a complete loss, Sarah had to blink to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her outright. Leaning her head forward with narrowed, glaring eyes, Sarah frowned and blinked again; The odd sight had managed to even make Sarah forget the indignant fury she felt for Joan's murder for a brief second.

The boy wasn't there any longer.

Sarah didn't understand it. She hissed derisively. She could've sworn he was _there_! "What...what _was_ that? Where did that boy go?" Sarah asked out loud incredulously, turning her head left and right, asking nobody in particular - it wasn't as if anyone else could answer that question for her, anyway. "Am I actually seeing-_aaaaaargh!_"

That pause, however, was enough to cost Sarah the duel.

Before Sarah could say or do anything else to confirm the truth of her illusion, her Commando Frame suddenly shuddered with a violent shove as she saw something explode on her to her left, and the camera screen there flicker and fade into nothingness; At once, haphazardly cursing herself and trying to focus her attention back towards the battle by straightening herself tensely, Sarah winced as a variety of red status boxes, showing damage reports, popped up on her remaining viewscreens, showing a disconcerting red flash over the Commando Frame's entire left arm. Saul's Heavy Machinegun, while Sarah had been distracted for that crucial moment, had blown the left arm clean off.

Immediately, the fury and indignity returned as Sarah's eyes focused into a glare back at Saul as her Frame turned around to face him, but that fury was now diluted with confusion and shock, and Sarah's movements were more sluggish as she hurriedly wheeled around and squeezed off four Hand Blaster shots by raising her Frame's right hand, which simply blazed past Saul's Frame harmlessly as he swerved left and right elusively to avoid the shots. "Y-you!" Sarah exclaimed indignantly, sneering in anger. It was so unfair, Sarah thought - She was distracted! That other Frame _had_ to have seen the boy as well! "How dare you-"

Then the Commando shuddered again and, to Sarah's horror, _all_ of the Commando's viewscreens immediately went _dead_, and as the Commando shuddered with another blow from _above_ this time, the Commando's cockpit space gave a dangerous rain of sparks that caused Sarah to wince, scream out in fright and duck her head from them, followed by a low whining noise as the Commando's systems gradually shut down forcefully from internal damage...and finally, the entire unit was silent, simply falling sideways towards its left and slamming into the ground in a heap, jarring Sarah from inside the _very_ claustrophobic cockpit.

_What happened?_ Sarah demanded furiously, her hands fumbling for the Emergency Cockpit Hatch Release controls off to her left side as she bit her lip bitterly in disbelief. _H-how did I get defeated so easily? How were these Alliance scum able to __**cheat**__ like that? It's so unfair!_

Finally, Sarah's left hand found the lever in question, yanked it upwards, and she closed her eyes to brace herself as a series of small hissing explosions erupted around the top of the cockpit to blow off the restraining bolts there...and then, with another jet of compressed air, the entire half-melted, mostly smashed top section of the Commando Frame simply launched violently along the ground above her head, scratching the ground as it went in sparks, and revealed Sarah to the outside world of pulverized Greenbots, Tanks and Helibots as her Commando Frame lay lifeless behind the large convoy truck containing Vedrfolnir's modules.

Hurriedly crawling out from the bottom half of the Commando Frame, Sarah sneered as her fury soared with her recent defeat and stared at the truck; Beside it, regrouping with each other, the two Alliance Frames were moving on opposite sides along the perimeter of the truck, ducking large red tank blasts while firing and mowing down more Greenbots in sweeping bursts of Heavy Machinegun shells off to the western end of the truck's position.

The boy was not there.

"Damn it all!" Sarah cursed angrily, kicking the lifeless controls as she crawled onto the ground to haphazardly escape the remains of her Commando Frame. The Alliance _will_ answer for this before the day was done, Sarah swore it! "It wasn't a fair fight by any means! I'll get you back for this, you hear me? _I'll get you back for all of this!_"

* * *

"Well, good riddance to _that_," Kaylie smirked and gave Saul a thumbs-up as her Dwarf, Heat Rod in one hand and blazing Heavy Machinegun in the other as she swerved right to tear another three Greenbots apart in front of her; She was just circling around the front of the truck from the left side, while Saul was regrouping with her from the truck's right side. In turn, Saul nodded appreciatively; Kaylie was the one who officially crippled Sarah's Commando with that well-placed Heat Rod to the head main systems from behind, but he had to wonder why Sarah would just _pause_ like that all of a sudden and allow Saul and Kaylie to tear her to pieces. It was a rookie mistake he didn't expect her to make. "That should be all of the Corp's Frames in this base, right, Alpha Crow?"

"That should take care of it," Saul nodded again. "Crow 3, are you clear?"

In response, the last of the Helibots exploded off to his left high above the truck. "_**Now**__ we are, Alpha Crow. Whenever you're ready._"

"Ready to plant the transceiver, Alpha Crow?" Kaylie asked.

In front of her and Saul, John's Gatling Blasters quickly made short work of another two Corp Tanks that were trying to advance towards them as his own Frame, coupled with Kaylie and Saul's combined Heavy Machinegun fire, were mowing down a few more Greenbots. Saul winced; They were starting to converge towards the truck again. He nodded and, priming the underside of the Heavy Machinegun, turned his Frame towards the front of the convoy truck.

"Got it."

Then, with a deep breath, Saul paused and squeezed the trigger, and a small, white circular beacon with a single red flashing light launched itself from the underside barrel of the Machinegun and magnetically clamped itself onto the right side of the front of the truck. Behind him, as Saul turned around to help, Kaylie and John had pulled alongside him and were returning fire in between the red ineffectual beams from the Greenbots - the remaining Corp Tanks had stopped firing inexplicably.

_Of course; They don't dare fire on the truck_, Saul realized proudly. _Whatever it is, it *has* to be important. I think we now actually __**have**__ ourselves the rope to hang Lady Frenzy with at last..._

"Crow 2, transceiver's been planted. It's all on you now."

"_Acknowledged, Alpha Crow. Program acquired. Give me 30 seconds._"

"Right! Crows, spread out and clear a path for the truck! Crow 3, now would be a good time to lay down some suppressing fire here!" Saul ordered, and at that, all three Dwarves shot forward in individual directions to spread out enemy fire; John's Dwarf swerved to the right, blazing its Gatling Blaster and blowing up two of the remaining Corp Tanks while its Rocket Pods lanced forth another volley, shredding four more Greenbots in a series of rapid explosions; Kaylie, swerving to the left, mowed down two other Greenbots with wide sweeps from her Heavy Machinegun as she charged in between three others, raising her Heat Rod and crushing a third with a well-placed smash onto its head, followed by a wide swing at the other two; Saul, pushing towards the center, slashed down two Greenbots along the way as the red Blaster volleys from the tanks exploded around him, drawing their fire away from their two teammates - as a long green beam shot down from above the cliff and sliced through one of the Corp Tanks as well.

After what seemed like forever, Damien's next transmission finally caused Saul's expression to brighten - and smirk triumphantly. "_Alpha Crow, I've hacked into ze truck's AI systems and taken remote control of it. Moving ze truck out now!_"

"Do it, Crow 2!" Saul nodded. This was it! "Crows, take up formation around the truck! We're leaving!"

Sure enough, after a short pause, the truck's engines flared, sputtered, and then started up, and the entire bulk of the truck started forward as its headlights lit up in front of it, its large wheels and bulk crushing the remains of downed Greenbots and various other Point Zero 3As underneath it. John quickly moved towards the truck's left side while Kaylie moved to the right, all three Crows moving parallel to the hijacked truck in its thrust for the destroyed entrance gate; Strafing with a hovering turn backwards, Kaylie emptied her Heavy Machinegun clip onto a row of four Greenbots attempting to pursue them, while Saul's fire cut through three actively blocking the truck's way. John, in turn, wheeled himself around and mowed down another Corp Tank, but it was a non-issue; the Corp Tanks had stopped firing with the convoy truck so close to them.

The truck then neared the entrance and, as Saul's Frame moved through it first and Kaylie and John's Frames gradually slid behind it, the truck charged at the destroyed Gate, accelerated...and smashed through its sides in a shower of sparks that jarred the entrance wide enough for the truck to pass through untouched. The loud jarring noise was followed by Kaylie and John's Frames shooting through the gap as well as the truck then turned north once outside Point Zero's perimeter at last, through the road then off of it, and finally vanished away from the western approach along with Saul's Frame, followed by Kaylie and John's Frames as well.

Before then, however, John smirked as he had a parting gift for Point Zero in mind. Before his own Frame passed through the gate after Kaylie's, John's Frame wheeled around, levelled the Rocket Pods upwards, and fired the last of the Rocket Pods upwards in a blaze at none other than Point Zero's Control Center...

* * *

"Can't we regain control of the Convoy Truck? Why aren't the Tanks firing at the enemy Frames?" The Operator demanded furiously, red damage flashes now blazing all around the outline of Point Zero's perimeter on the viewscreen; The dim-lit green Control Center was now blazing with a repeating red alert light from above as well. "We need them to pick up the slack! Order the tanks to shoot them now! And where the hell are our _own_ Frames? Did they get shot-"

"No! Have the Tanks hold their fire!" Stark countermanded promptly, although he was no less furious himself.

"We have to, Professor! Without Helibots and Commandoes, the Greenbots alone can't take out those Dwarf Frames without Tank support!" The Operator turned his head incredulously at him, glaring in defiance. "We don't stand a chance otherwise - there's no choice! Order the Tanks to fire on the Frames at once-"

"Executive Override by Professor Tanner Stark! Belay that order now and hold your fire!"

Both Stark and the Operator glared unyieldingly at each other.

"So you'd just let the Alliance get away?"

"We can't risk damaging Vedrfolnir, you fool! The Tanks' fire are too inaccurate!" Stark countered.

"Then we'll destroy it if we have to!" The Operator snapped back, stretching out his hands incredulously in disbelief at what he was hearing. "If the Alliance finds out what we're trying to build and can put it together themselves, the RM Corp is **finished**!"

"We'll get it back later! I didn't get this far just to let the Alliance force me into-"

Suddenly, as Stark turned around towards the exit of the base, his glance narrowed as his sight caught onto the window...and before he said anything more, he immediately threw himself onto the ground, covering his head with his hands before the Operator could respond. At once, as the Operator himself turned to see what caused Stark to react thus...the entire Control Center virtually _exploded_ as John's rockets crashed around and into the Control Center itself, and a storm of fire, then raining debris, fell down onto the unsuspecting Control Center and engulfed it, along with everyone in it, in total darkness.

All activity, all noise, ceased with the cacophony of destruction.

It was only after the crumbling ceased entirely did a painstaking groan resound throughout the wreckage that was Point Zero's Command Center and, mostly unscathed with only a few scratches and bruises and a cracked left lens on his glasses, Professor Stark picked himself up slowly onto his knees to assess what exactly happened. Wincing, Stark brushed himself off and stood up, looking left and right; He got off with little more than being covered with dust and masonry, even as the Control Center was nearly completely pulverized in the rockets' wake.

In fact, it would be a stretch to be able to call it a Control Center after what was done. Most of the viewscreens were outright cracked or destroyed by the falling debris, and a part of the ceiling and wall simply ceased to exist, exposed into the open where the rockets impacted. Many of the 3As and consoles near that hole were blown to scorched shreds by the explosion, while many others were crushed by the falling ceiling masonry; Those that remained either escaped with some form of minor physical damage or found themselves continuing to work on destroyed, useless consoles. The steel wire frame of the ceiling's innards was bent downwards towards one side across the Control Center, above the fallen debris.

Looking at the remaining main viewscreen showing the Point Zero outline, Stark sneered mirthlessly as he placed his hands in his slightly-shredded lab coat pockets. Stark alone seemed to have had escaped relatively unscathed; the Operator and his adjutants there were not as lucky, their crushed and battered bodies lying in a heap beneath Stark's feet to his right, buried by large chunks of the shattered ceiling. The Professor otherwise ignored them, however, as his gaze fell onto the viewscreen; the Alliance Frames, as well as the Convoy Truck with Vedrfolnir, were _gone_.

They had escaped.

Shaking his head, Stark turned to gaze outside, through the hole blown by the rockets, and onto the flaming, smoking base outside that once was the RM Corp's pride of weapons testing. As his gaze fell upon the punctured, half-damaged Hanger section and N-Field, however, Stark's eyes narrowed and he felt a livid fury and urgency rise in his heart as his breathing quickened. Within his lab coat, his fists clenched at the indignant defeat for different reasons.

_It's bad enough that they took Vedrfolnir away under our very noses like this_, Stark thought derisively, his thoughts falling onto the _other_, _true_ secret that Point Zero guarded, the weapon and 'treasure' that he had invested his life and career in for that intermittent year since - and he inwardly hoped that she, who was even _more_ important than Vedrfolnir itself, was still intact despite all that. _They had better not also taken Specimen 01 away from me as well..._

* * *

"Black Crows" Waypoint 6, 9:45pm

Saul had expected, much to his disdain, that the slow, tedious part of the entire mission would only occur _after_ the Black Crows had succeeded their hijacking in earnest.

With his Dwarf in front with Heavy Machinegun brandished, the five Dwarf Frames had taken up various parallel positions around the hijacked Convoy Truck that was making its way, relatively slowly compared to the maximum speeds of the Mecha Frames, through a rather open dusty, dry dirt field surrounded by rolling hills in the distance to the north. Even Damien and Sonny's Frames, mostly untouched by the Helibots' fire, had rejoined the group by then after moving at that pace for a good half-hour; Being the one controlling the truck remotely, Damien was at the very rear of the formation behind the truck with Kaylie's Frame to his right flank protectively; Sonny's Frame was moving parallel to the truck on its right side, while John's was on its left, all six vehicles kicking up a rolling cloud of dust in a visible trail behind them.

At the slow pace the Convoy Truck was moving, the Black Crows wouldn't reach the _Liberation_ - their final waypoint that would complete their mission in full - for at _least_ another 15 to 20 minutes. Saul frowned at that mental calculation, staring forward dully in his Frame's cockpit. By most means, they couldn't afford to stop and were already halfway there, but they also had to prepare themselves for the possibility of the RM Corp sending a pursuit force to retrieve the convoy, and if that happens, Saul didn't want the Black Crows caught unprepared to fight them off with everything they had.

"Alright, Crows," Saul ordered, his voice softening slightly as he stretched himself a little and began slowing down his Dwarf. "We'll stop here and take a 5 minute break. Perform an Ammo Check, then get out and stretch your legs for a bit. Damien, keep monitoring your sensor screens for a pursuit force."

There were collective sighs and yawns of relief from the other Black Crows at the order to stop and, slowing down in unison to whine down their rocket thrusters, the entire procession ground into a halt followed by the cockpit hatches on the Black Crows' Frames opening sideways nearly in complete unison. It was now completely dark, except for the floodlights lining the truck itself and from the Mecha Frames; It was a perfect scenery for taking a breather. After the battle, Kaylie sighed contently as she keyed in a few commands on her cockpit consoles, they could sure use it.

That relief faded slightly as, on her Frame's displays, an Ammunition Count returned. "I'm down to 32% in my Heavy Machinegun, sir," Kaylie replied. "There were a _lot_ of Greenbots in that base."

"I have 76%, sir," Damien answered. "Didn't do much fighting from up zere."

"I'm not looking too good, sir," Was John's reply. "Rocket Pods are empty, Gatling Blaster battery reserves are down to 40%."

"I'm sitting pretty, sir," Sonny answered proudly at that; His Sniper Rifle had its own built-in Power Generator and Coolant System. "Just don't ask me to frontline anything, as usual."

Saul was next to frown as his own displays appeared, causing him to shake his head derisively. "I lost one of my Machineguns, and the other's down to 57% ammo capacity," Was Saul's report. Against another pursuit force as large as what they faced at Point Zero, it was risky - but at this point it would have to do. "Let's hope it's enough. Alright, let's take a short break. We move again in 5, Crows; Don't get too comfortable."

With another collective sigh, the Black Crow pilots (except Damien) were quick to climb out of their cockpit seats and, swinging their legs outwards, landed onto the dusty ground beneath. Saul himself frowned and took in a deep breath of air, sitting at the edge of the cockpit overlooking the entire procession...and winced with slightly fatigued eyes at the smell of mechanical oil and burnt gunpowder from his Mecha Frame intermixed with the cool night air, assaulting his nostrils with the thoughts of battle. Inwardly, as the smell reminded him faintly of the _Liberation_'s broken-down innards, Saul absently wondered if Carlotta made it to the _Liberation_ without trouble - He smirked briefly at the thought of what she might say about what the Black Crows brought back if they did.

Biting his lip sardonically, Saul grumbled inaudibly to himself. How many times had he smelled this stench of warfare and death during the Frame War only a few months ago, ever since he had volunteered to become a pilot the very moment the first of the Mecha Frames were introduced by the European Alliance in the conflict? Back then, Saul had remembered that mechanical smell to be a welcome alternative to the stench of fear and the panicked screams of fellow soldiers that had become prevalent during the early months of the Frame War - the cries for help or mercy from defeated infantrymen and pilots either torn to shreds by concentrated Blaster fire, burnt to death, or trampled beneath the unfeeling feet of the RM Corp's Massive Destruction Bots in the frontlines. Oh yes, Saul remembered tiredly, it had been tiring work and hurried training to get accustomed to the Mecha Frames, but it had been completely worth the effort seeing MDB after MDB explode and fall lifeless, at great cost to the once-triumphant RM Corp.

But months later, here they were, escorting an unassembled Massive Destruction Bot Prototype of their own - if intelligence had been correct, that is, _and it damn well better be right after all we went through_, Saul derisively sneered to himself - and all Saul could hope for was for this Prototype to be the ending cue to finishing what Ziv Zulander started once and for all in utterly destroying the RM Corp.

Only then, Saul was convinced, would he no longer have to smell that stench of warfare, or see or fight another Mecha Frame, again for the rest of his life.

* * *

"I swear, Alliance Command had better be right about these crates..."

It was with a slight grumble, albeit unknowingly sharing her Squad Leader's thoughts, that Kaylie Morgan stood beside the truck on its left side as she reached into her pockets for a pack of cigarettes with her right hand; Using her left index and middle fingers, Kaylie promptly pulled a single cigarette from the red packet before placing the rest of the packet back into her flight suit pocket, while retrieving a lighter from that same pocket and lifting it beside her chin and placing said cigarette into her mouth. It took Kaylie three clicks of her lighter before she managed to light her cigarette and, placing the lighter back in her pocket, inhaled a puff from it.

Pulling the cigarette out of her mouth for a moment between her fingers, Kaylie sighed, blowing a cloud of smoke from between her lips. Scanning her eyes back and forth around the side of the truck, its large crates and the green cloth covering them, Kaylie gave a small snort of disgust; Many of the Black Crows had fallen victim to the dreadful march of the Massive Destruction Bots during the Frame War, but for Kaylie, she alone reserved a special disdain and hatred for those death machines ever since the Battle of Arras. Nobody would _ever_ hear of the reasons if Kaylie could help it, naturally, but it had nonetheless made her sick to her stomach to think that their mission was to _steal_ one from the RM Corp again after only two months since the end of the war, moreso the prospect that they might have had to _fight_ it if things went south.

Feeling herself relax slightly as the cigarette went to work, Kaylie placed the cigarette back in her mouth and inhaled again. But here they were, with what was apparently an MDB of their own - sneering, Kaylie decided that she would brave it. Bear with its presence for twenty more minutes and it's no longer her problem; One MDB to put a final end to all of them. It sounded like a worthy trade-off to her.

After a short while, Kaylie pulled the cigarette back out, exhaled, and turned around to lean against the truck on her back while turning her head rightwards. Of course, Kaylie didn't expect the RM Corp to sit quietly and let them _take_ it, as she knew Saul didn't-

Kaylie's eyes suddenly narrowed towards the truck's last cargo bed - did someone just kick at the green cover there a moment ago...?

"Huh?"

For awhile, she paused. Maybe she was just seeing things. Then the cover flickered again...And Kaylie could've sworn that she heard some _whispering_ coming from that direction. _Between the second and third cargo bed sections_...

This time, she wasn't going to take chances, not when they were so close.

"Who's there?" Kaylie demanded quickly.

Dumping the cigarette onto the ground and quickly stomping it flat with the heel of her right boot, Kaylie took a sharp exhale of breath to let out a puff of smoke, reached into her other pocket, and drew a small pistol-like blaster into her hand which Kaylie then raised vertically, beside her head, and gripped readily with both fists as she began quietly shuffling towards the space between the two cargo beds. Shuffling step by step, Kaylie narrowed her eyes intently as she stepped past the space between the first and second cargo beds. A Greenbot they missed, perhaps?

"Come out and show yourself!" Kaylie demanded again. No answer.

She pointed her pistol forward, shuffling quietly with her back against the wall. She was getting closer.

"Last chance!"

She was getting closer. The green cover flickered again - and Kaylie could've sworn she heard some kind of panicked _panting_ coming from between the sections in question. That caused Kaylie to pause momentarily, blinking in confusion. _What the hell - am I hearing things? Greenbots don't make that kind of noise! What kind of sick joke is this...?_

Kaylie decided not to wait to find out. Stopping just short of the tail of the second section with pistol drawn, Kaylie took a deep breath, narrowed her eyes intently, and spun rightwards forcefully as she turned with pistol drawn into the space between the second and third cargo beds, trying to surprise whatever it was that was lurking there.

She was promptly greeted by a small running shoe that kicked out forcefully into the flat of her face.

"**Owwww!** Heeeey!"

It was not a truly painful kick, by any means; The shoe was small, but it had slammed onto the bridge of her nose, next to the eyes, and while it didn't actually hurt Kaylie...it still _stung_ a little, and she completely didn't see _that_ coming. The sudden kick caused Kaylie to stagger back with a slight red fluster where the shoe kicked her, trip over her own two feet, and topple onto the ground altogether in a heap to land on her rear; Clutching her face and rubbing the bridge of her nose with her left hand, a completely _startled_ Kaylie sneered in annoyance.

"What the hell?" Kaylie demanded hoarselt as she pulled her hand away from her face, blinked a few times, and finally looked up at the crates with an angry, unamused hiss - It was then that she finally caught sight of the silver-haired boy that had kicked her climbing hurriedly on top of the third crate to elude her, panting and screaming incoherently almost in a blind _panic_ as he looked around him for an avenue of escape.

"Who...is that a _kid?_ What's _he_ doing snooping around on an RM Corp Military Convoy?" Kaylie cried out, hurriedly trying to pull herself back onto her feet as, around her, the other members of the Black Crows were already responding to the new intruder by running towards her. "Hey! Guys! Quick, over here! We've got some nosy kid running around the convoy...!"

* * *

Point Zero, meanwhile

"Do you see anyone there?" Stark demanded in a livid rage and stomped his foot in derisiveness as, in front of his eyes, a number of Security Bots and other salvaging yellow 3As poured through the downed wreckage of the Helibot that had brought parts of Hanger 3 and Hanger 4 down along with it...and the utterly crushed remains of Stark's so-called 'Container X' beneath it. The sight only meant one thing to Stark: that the damage had been much more grave than Stark, or anyone _else_ in the RM Corp tonight, had thought. "I don't care what you have to do, I want her found - and if she's dead, I want her _body_ found, you hear me?"

The Alliance, all in all, had been rather _thorough_ in their hijacking and assault on Point Zero. Out of Point Zero's prepared, numerous defence forces, all but a handful of Greenbots and a single Corp Tank remained unharmed; The remainder lay in strewn, shattered piles of severed limbs and burnt, blown-off armor parts all over the ground where downed Helibots that had not exploded outright also lay in twisted, battered wreckages. There were glaring holes on the Hanger walls where the Alliance's fire met them, as well as an entire ceiling portion from the corners of Hangers 3 and 4; The Communications Array was little more than a twisted, melted frame of metal, and the Primary Generator fared little better. Fires burned everywhere, conjuring telltale pillars of smoke into the night sky, obscuring the half moon above.

After awhile, Stark's expression only darkened. She was nowhere to be found - not even a body. Under normal circumstances, that should not be; with her conditioning, Stark sneered to himself, Specimen 01 couldn't possibly have had conjured the mindset to flee by herself. It could only mean one thing, the one thing he dreaded even more than the loss of Vedrfolnir in its entirety to the European Alliance.

The Alliance took her - and possibly knows about who she really is.

"Professor!"

It was a young adjutant's voice from behind Stark that interrupted the Professor's reverie, causing him to turn around with arms behind his back as Stark hurriedly tried to calm his expression enough to hide his displeasure over Specimen 01's disappearance; Her presence on this base had been of the greatest secrecy in Point Zero, and only Stark and a select few of his 'adjutants' - all were dead now from John's attack on the Control Center itself, save the one in front of him - had priority access to her to begin with. This one didn't; He hadn't earned his stripes like the others had. As the adjutant, a young man with long brown hair looking barely past his early 20s, saluted Stark crisply in an attempt to please, Stark merely nodded. "This better be good," Stark merely said.

"We've re-established communications with Megacity Security ten minutes ago, Professor, and put up a temporary Command Post inside Hanger 2," The adjutant reported matter-of-factly, lowering his hand. "And I've notified them of the situation out here and asked for reinforcements. We're still tracking the Convoy Truck for now; They've already sent 25 Helibots out in that direction on a Pursuit and Retrieval Mission and expect to make contact with the hijacked convoy very soon."

"What about my request?"

"They weren't happy about it, but won't argue with an Executive Override - it's being airlifted and will arrive at Point Zero within the next 5 minutes."

Stark nodded; With _that_ in their possession, their chances were far more secure. Maybe they'll get that Convoy _and_ Specimen 01 back yet. "Good. Keep me posted," Stark merely said, and turned around with his back facing the adjutant again, who saluted, flustered at the lack of response, and walked away to leave the Professor alone - Stark had been known repeatedly to be..._touchy_ when his pet projects were endangered. Hence left alone, Stark stared forward at the wrecked Helibot and the remains of 'Container X', glaring intently in thought at it.

Tonight, Stark realized in disdain as he frowned and rolled his eyes, would make or break the RM Corp - and, likewise, make or break _him_...

"Professor Stark!"

There were few ways that Stark's mood could sour even more at that point - and hearing that Sarah Harrington was still _alive_ was just one of those very things. Sure enough, as Stark turned right, a worse-for-wear Sarah was just stomping in a foul humor towards him, crossing her arms bitterly. The only comfort Stark took was that Sarah had, nonetheless, taken a beating of her own during the battle; Her flight suit was ripped at places to reveal the white fabric underneath and dust-caked at others, and Sarah's hair looked disheveled and dirty from crawling on concrete.

Sarah didn't appreciate the sarcastic look from him. Stretching out an arm outwards forcefully, Sarah glared at the Professor with her own angered, indignant eyes in turn. "Professor!" Sarah all but _barked_ at him, in blatant disregard of rank at this point; She didn't care, not when Joan died for no reason defending _his_ base. "Haven't we sent out a Pursuit Team yet? Why're we just sitting here?"

"I don't appreciate you talking to me like that, Corporal," Stark countered, turning away from her.

"One of my friends just got killed, so I don't give a _damn_ right now, Professor."

"Your problem. It's been taken care of, as always."

A low growl escaped from Sarah - she was otherwise blunt in saying what she wanted. "I want in, sir."

"With _what_?" Stark asked incredulously at that, swinging his left arm in a wide circle around him as if the field of destroyed Greenbots, Tanks and Helibots were not obvious enough to Sarah. "What're you going to do - take a forklift and ram them? Look around you! What makes you think we have _anything_ we can chase down five Mecha Frames with when you've lost your own without taking down _any_ of them, Corporal Harrington?"

Sarah sharply pointed at the sole remaining Corp Tank standing near the destroyed gate. "What about that Tank? I'll use that! They couldn't have had gotten too far at the speed the truck moved, I'll catch up soon enough even in that broken down piece of junk!"

Stark sneered, turning to glare intently at Sarah with an incredulous look. "What are you, _crazy?_"

"I want _revenge_, sir! Just find something for me!" Sarah demanded in return, swinging her arms defiantly outwards as she frowned sharply. "As long as I get _one_ of those bastards back for what they did to Joan, I'll drive anything out there-"

"It ain't possible-"

This time, Sarah was _not_ going to budge - not when she _needed_ to do this. Of all the times Sarah Harrington had sat as a glorified security guard in Point Zero, waiting for a chance to prove herself...that chance came, and she botched it by freak chance. This time, Sarah felt strongly, more than ever, that she _needed_ to pull her weight in the RM Corp, not only in revenge for Joan, but for everything she's missed out on...and all the wasted potential inside her crying out for release. She _needed_ to fight the Alliance in what might very well possibly - if they failed to retrieve Vedrfolnir from the Alliance - be Sarah _and_ the RM Corp's very last battle on Earth before the Corp faced annihilation.

Before Stark could continue, Sarah suddenly lunged forward and all but _hoisted_ Stark upwards by his lab coat collars, glaring at him eye-to-eye nearly point-blank as she pulled him closer. This time, Stark gasped as he, for once, finally saw the _true_ depths of Sarah's burning desire for retribution inside her brown eyes...and it was _his_ turn to shudder in fright despite Sarah's utter disrespecting and insulting him at this point.

"You listen to me, you snivelling little creep," Sarah spat derisively, without care of the consequences at that point. "All me and Joan ever wanted was to pull our weight for the RM Corp as we were trained to do, but you just kept pushing us down. Now that chance came, but they killed Joan before she could even do _anything_ - and then when I want to avenge her by finally doing what I _know_ and had been _trained_ to do, you pull _this_ on me?"

Sarah shook Stark violently once to get her point across.

"You already took Vedrfolnir away from me, 'Professor' Stark - but you won't deny me _this_ when it truly matters! Now, you find _something_ for me to go after them with," Sarah's voice became slightly colder, but it was no less threatening and demanding. "Or so help me, I'll wring your puny, disgusting neck and _then_ I'll get on that Corp Tank and chase after them _anyway_. So - what will it be, Professor?"

Stark's eyes narrowed furiously - although Sarah inwardly smirked as she caught those eyes wavering in secret fear - as his lips curled into a half-sneer. "A-are you _threatening_ me, 'Corporal'?"

Sarah said nothing, staring unbendingly. _All in all, you're just a glorified bully_.

"...F-fine," Stark finally answered and, as Sarah's inward smirk turned physical as she gave him a triumphant gaze, she let go of his coat collars and let him drop feet-first onto the ground. Gasping slightly, Stark backed off a few steps and looked up at her, panting in bitter defeat. "Fine, Corporal. You want to risk your neck chasing revenge, be my guest. I have a special surprise planned for the Alliance, and it'll be arriving at Point Zero any minute - _you_ pilot it using the Testing Cockpit and go after them. Annihilate any Alliance Frames and Troops you see there, but I want that Convoy Truck and anything _else_ you might find there taken back to me alive."

Sarah paused and saluted wordlessly before Stark suddenly started forward, standing very close to Sarah and glaring at her.

"But I'm _warning_ you, Sarah - don't fail me," Stark countered venomously, jabbing at Sarah's chest with his right index finger a few times to get his point across. "Don't you _dare_ fail me, after threatening me in plain sight of Point Zero like that. Because if you do, I will _hurt_ you - It won't be physically, and it might not even be through official channels, but I will hurt you _badly_, and you will be made to _regret_ threatening me like you did tonight. I guarantee you that much, Sarah. Understood?"

Silence.

"You _really_ need to take a pill for that temper of yours, you know that, Professor?" Sarah retorted with a sly, taunting smile, and left Stark standing there in a livid sneer as she simply walked past him to his left, towards the center of the base where the sounds of approaching Helibots could suddenly be heard. With a frown and placing her hands on her waist readily, Sarah looked up and scoffed; This time, if nothing else, she was going to pull her weight - for herself and for Joan, as long as Sarah got to pay them back for that by killing at least _one_ of them - and prove her worth to the RM Corp, and no silver-haired boy was going to distract her _this_ time. "Just leave it to me."

Above and in front of her, towed by six Helibots with a mass of towing cables tied to their undersides, was a gigantic, 15-meter tall square purple crate...

* * *

"Black Crows" Waypoint 6, 9:48pm

_Oh what am I doing what am I doing what am I doing..._

That was the one single, uncertain thought was prevalent through Fritz Lasalle's mind as he stood on top of the Convoy Truck, looking down at the various Black Crows pilots trying to flank and catch him. Glancing back quickly, Fritz gasped as he saw Kaylie beginning to climb up the truck, hoisting herself up between the second and third cargo beds; Apparently, Fritz had accidentally towed himself out of Point Zero proper only to find himself in an _entirely_ new heap of trouble with the Black Crows!

It had been quite a surprise for Fritz when, having taken refuge on the Convoy Truck with the flame-haired girl, the truck suddenly moved by itself inexplicably and charged itself through the carnage of the battle; The initial jerk had sent him and the girl sprawling against the crates, and the blaster fire blazing around the truck quickly caused Fritz to flinch and ruined any attempts for Fritz to jump off with the flame-haired girl. Completely out of options, Fritz suggested the only thing he could think of to the flame-haired girl: to hide themselves behind the green cloth covering the crates, wait for the truck to stop, then sneak out and away from whoever was taking the truck. And that was what they did, huddling next to each other with their knees tucked against their chests, pulling the green cloth over themselves to wait.

Then came the reprieve as the fighting simply _stopped_ - and Fritz finally had the chance to register how physically _close_ the flame-haired girl was sitting to him to his left. That closeness made Fritz fluster in awkward embarassment and flutter his eyes sideways, away from her, and he remembered fidgeting only very slightly (he didn't want to startle her) at that realization; Being only twelve and in a Boys' Boarding School, girls had never been a big issue for him before, and Fritz had honestly never sat _that_ close to a girl before - only one other girl he knew had gotten near enough to him, but never like that he felt at that moment to the flame-haired girl sitting next to him. At that moment, Fritz nervously bit his lip and tried not to dwell on it; It felt good, but it also felt inappropriate given their situation, and Fritz just wished for the truck to stop soon so they could get out and make their escape at last.

Eventually, the truck _did_ stop. But it hadn't worked - the Black Crows surrounded the truck and to make things worse, Kaylie had heard him. Fritz bit his lip nervously at that, blinking hurriedly and glancing once left and right, to try to think of a plan. "I think we're facing north, so I'll distract them," Fritz suggested in a quiet, haphazard whisper to the flame-haired girl as Kaylie drew her pistol and began shuffling towards their hiding spot. "Once I've gotten them off to my right side, you run towards the left, _that_ way, and don't look back, okay? I'll lose them and come find you later."

Then, the moment Kaylie finally turned to emerge into their hiding spot and surprise them, Fritz acted first and kicked her in the face before scrambling on top of the third crate to catch the Black Crows' attention...and it was only when Kaylie cried for help, and Fritz looked down at the various other adults around him moving in to surround the truck with confused looks, did the full difficulty of what he had suggested finally hit him.

And at that thought, he froze in a panic, sweating and with widened, nervous eyes.

_Oh, what am I doing? H-how...how am I gonna get outta here and distract them long enough...?_

Fritz sighed to himself. His mind went blank.

Suddenly, he heard a loud _clanging_ noise erupt from behind him and, as the hairs on the back of his neck bristled in fright, he felt Kaylie try to punch her left hand out to grab him on the shoulder and hold him still. "Eeeee!" Fritz squeaked at that, feeling the very first bit of Kaylie's fingers on his left shoulder - and without thinking anything else but to _escape_ Kaylie's attempt to catch him, Fritz promptly turned left and all but _jumped_ off the side of the truck, towards the ground, where he landed on his feet for a brief moment...before pitching forward and rolling along the ground before coming to a stop on all fours on the dusty ground. "Oof!"

"Hey you!" Fritz gasped and looked up to the sight of Sonny, arms stretched out to either side of him menacingly, running towards him. "Hold it right there!"

"Aaaaah!"

Before Sonny could crouch down and grab him in a hard bear hug by clenching his arms around him, Fritz broke into a hurried crawl back towards the truck, dashed forward a little in a slight stagger, lost his balance, dove, and exhaled as he rolled himself flat between the tires of the third cargo bed section and came to a stop underneath the truck, panting quickly. The reprieve didn't last long - Sonny sneered as he charged at the truck, knelt down, and punched his right hand out to reach underneath the truck towards him, his fingers nicking Fritz's right ankle and causing Fritz to start forward again by crawling underneath the truck towards the second cargo bed section.

"What's going on here?" John yelled confusedly; In front of Fritz, John himself slid into a kneel on one knee further ahead of him, stretching out his own right hand to block Fritz from the next car; Widening his eyes in shock, Fritz paused for a moment in fright before starting with a roll leftwards, moving back out from underneath the truck on its left side and hurriedly bringing himself kneeling onto his left knee. Looking up, he found John beginning to pull himself from underneath the truck to try to stand up - and giving Fritz his own shocked, disbelieving glance. "W-what the? Hey, kid! Hold it right there!"

Screaming incoherently, Fritz leapt onto his feet and turned to run in the opposite direction towards the rear of the truck as John kept trying to stand...but quickly stopped into a skid on the dusty ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, as he saw Sonny circling around at that moment and trying to cut him off on that side. With a nervous sigh, Fritz turned and ran along the left side of the truck towards the front instead, narrowly ducking John's swipe at his head as he ran past the Black Crow pilot, quickly dashing frightfully beside the second cargo bed section as John and Sonny chased after him from behind, sliding slightly off-balance in the process-

"Got you, kid!"

Fritz suddenly stopped and, in his haste to stop as he grabbed onto the side of the second cargo bed section with his right hand, lost his footing and fell on his rear with a _thud_ as Kaylie herself suddenly leapt from the top of the crate there, swung herself around, and land directly in front of Fritz to try to catch him by surprise; She glared annoyedly at him - it still stung a little where Fritz kicked her - as Kaylie then grabbed out again to catch Fritz, leaning forward. With a flicker of his eyes, Fritz knew he had no other option: He winced and rolled himself rightwards, pulling himself underneath the truck again hurriedly and causing Kaylie to miss him again, rolling, and emerging on the _right_ side of the second cargo bed section as Fritz then tried to pick himself back up to elude his pursuers.

"Hey!" Saul's voice hurriedly cried out from somewhere behind Fritz. "What's going on here?"

"We've got some nosy kid snooping around the truck, sir!" Kaylie's own angry voice cried back. "Sonny, stay on this side! John, over the crates! We'll surround him and cut him off!"

Just as Fritz barely managed to stand up on his feet again and breathe, he looked up and turned around with a startled gasp as the sounds of footsteps stomping angrily on steel erupted behind him, and his eyes caught onto Kaylie trying to climb up the crates up the second cargo bed section and jump onto his side; Instinctively, Fritz tried to turn right, only to hear John do the same over the third cargo section, and with a nervous exhale he dashed forward (stumbling slightly in the process on the dusty ground and nearly losing his balance again) and crouched low to evade as Kaylie landed and began sprinting behind him, cutting him off on his left side.

"Where do you think _you're_ going, kid?"

Absorbed in eluding Kaylie and John, Fritz _narrowly_ missed Damien diving down at him from his right with arms outstretched and, coming into yet another hurried skid, Fritz screamed incoherently as he stopped himself before he crashed into Damien as he landed on all fours in front of Fritz, weaving his small body towards the right and circling around Damien...as Sonny and Kaylie sneered and tried to swipe their hands at Fritz again from behind, narrowly nicking his hair, nearly crashing into each other in a haphazard heap as Kaylie angrily shoved John away from her slightly with both palms and kept chasing after him.

Fritz briefly gazed back as Kaylie and John continued their pursuit, the boy attempting to turn right to move around the rear of the truck again as he sprinted past the third cargo bed section. That made _three_ of them now that were chasing him, Fritz mentally tried to count; if they didn't chase him, it didn't mean anything. But where was that other one? Fritz could've _sworn_ there was a fourth man around that he saw earlier-

_"Aaaaaaah!"_

The shrill, blood-curdling and absolutely _terrified_ girl's screaming that rang out from somewhere on the truck suddenly stopped Fritz Lasalle cold in his stride - and he quickly dreaded the realization that the scream could only belong to one other person he knew as, at the voice, Fritz's heart pounded in his ears in his _own_ horror and felt an empathic cold sweat break out along his spine and every nerve in his body. What he had tried to prevent had finally come to pass - and it broke Fritz's heart to hear it happen in front of him.

"Hey, what's going on? There's _another_ one hiding here!" Sonny cried out from behind the truck. "H-hey, stop that! Stop fighting me! Ow! Ouch!"

"Wha? No...!" Stopping with a hurried skid, Fritz haphazardly turned towards the truck and his eyes widened in horrified shock, his body shivering with the dreaded feelings, as he saw a struggled flutter from the green cloth between the second and third cargo bed sections. At that instant, his worst fears were confirmed, and for a moment, he lost all stride in his body. They've found the flame-haired girl, and she was screaming for help. From _him_.

The girl screamed again.

"_Aaaah! Aaaaaaaaaah!_"

"No! Let...let her go! _Let her go right now!_" Fritz found himself yelling defiantly as if his entire body went into numbed autopilot from the urgent haste he felt in his pounding heart, and before he knew what he was doing, Fritz pushed himself as fast as he could, as _hard_ as he could do so, towards where the flame-haired girl was surely struggling against one of the Black Crows behind the third set of crates. Filled and overwhelmed with worry for his secret friend, his mind lost complete track of where the other Black Crows were even as Fritz dashed along the truck again, or if they were even still pursuing him. He didn't care anymore. He had to get over there and help her somehow, any way he could. "I said let her-"

Just short of reaching the space between the second and third sections of the Convoy Truck, Fritz Lasalle's feet suddenly gave way as he found himself pitching forward into thin air, floating for a brief half-second, and finally slam chest-first into the ground next to the truck _hard_ - Kaylie had finally tripped him with her left leg after Fritz suddenly became too absorbed with easing the flame-haired girl's plight to see her coming. A sharp ache erupted throughout his body as he slammed into the ground, distracting Fritz from his absent thoughts momentarily as he felt all air leave his lungs with the blow. A second later, before Fritz could pick himself up stubbornly and continue forward, he felt a strong hand grip onto his right waist, bend it backwards, and pin it there painfully underneath a heavy knee as someone pressed down to almost _sit_ on top of him, holding him in place; soon after that, another hand did the same to his left wrist, immobilizing Fritz outright and pressing him against the ground.

"Got you!" Kaylie exclaimed, smiling to herself with eyes looking triumphant as she pinned Fritz down with her right knee and held him in place with John's help. "Kick _me_ in the face, will you, kid?" But despite feeling a bit short of air and more difficult for him to breathe...Fritz still struggled with fierce, stubborn jerks upward, fighting against Kaylie every step of the way while craning his neck and head up to look and cry out at where the flame-haired girl was hiding. Kaylie hissed bitterly at that. _Who the hell __**is**__ this kid? He's like some kind of small, hard-to-catch baby...__**wildcat**__ or something_!

"Don't hurt her! Let go of her! Aaargh!" Fritz kept yelling loudly, struggling against his captors with narrowed, _furious_ eyes. "I said let _go_ of her! She never did anything to you guys! I'm the one that's been snooping around, it's me you want, not her! Let go of her already-"

"H-heeeeey!"

Suddenly, Sonny gave a gasp of surprise as the green cloth fluttered again and, to Fritz's horrified surprise, the flame-haired girl suddenly leapt out from behind the crates in front of him and ran towards him and Kaylie with a terrified, uncertainly pensive look in her eyes - eyes that caused Fritz to gasp in sympathy at the pain she felt and, more importantly, surprised Kaylie in turn and caused her _and_ John's grip on Fritz's wrists to relent absently. Suddenly feeling the pressure against him loosening, Fritz instinctively seized the chance and shoved upwards; Caught off-guard, Kaylie gasped as she felt Fritz push her upwards and, with the resultant gap being just enough, squeezed out from underneath her, crawling on all fours forward for a second before running towards the flame-haired girl in a gasp of concern.

She immediately shuffled and hid herself behind him fearfully, peering her eyes from behind his right shoulder.

That was enough for Fritz Lasalle to regain his defiance. As Kaylie and John started upwards to stand and pursue while Sonny began climbing over the crates himself, Fritz spun himself and stretched his arms out protectively at that at the only instinct he had to follow - throwing _himself_ in between the flame-haired girl and the other Black Crow members as a shield as he began to back away slowly away from them, with the other Black Crow pilots stopping cautiously around them with their own accompanying looks of confusion. Kaylie blinked. What exactly was their story? She just couldn't understand it.

"_Alright, that's enough, Crows! Stand down!_"

It was then, at that impeccable moment, that the one voice the Black Crows turned to for answers when the situation became difficult took charge of the situation, and despite their persisting puzzled glances at Fritz and the flame-haired girl, the Black Crows _obeyed_. Taking two slow steps back in unison, Kaylie, Sonny, John and Damien backed away to give Fritz and the girl much-needed breathing space, panting in slight exasperation individually at that. Then, having had stopped the Black Crows and calmed the situation down - for now - Saul Wellings himself finally weaved in between Kaylie and Sonny with a firm shuffle, took a deep breath, and looked down at the two little intruders among their midsts. Fritz and the girl merely stared back, the former panting in exhaustion but still glaring defiantly in wariness at him back.

"Damien, go back and watch the sensors again; I don't want anything _else_ sneaking up on us if I can help it," Saul ordered, and Damien nodded and left without question at that to walk back to his own Mecha Frame. With a silent frown, Kaylie pulled out another cigarette and lit it between her lips; Saul could handle this one to his heart's content if he wanted to, and she was washing her hands of this wildcat altogether.

Silence.

Crossing his arms thoughtfully, Saul suddenly widened his eyes in inexplicable recognition. Looking from Fritz to the flame-haired girl and then back again, Saul blinked in wonder; Both of the children somehow looked familiar to him, but for differing reasons he couldn't place. As far as Saul knew, in fact, he had never met Fritz Lasalle before...but it was as if he's seen the flame-haired girl from somewhere before, and Fritz seemed almost stubbornly _bent_ on protecting her from the Black Crows for some unknown reason (not to mention the girl wearing a hospital robe of all things in a place like that). With a low frown, Saul shook his head. "Crows, you're dismissed. I'll deal with this myself."

"But shouldn't we-" Sonny began in protest.

"It's fine."

"Whatever you say then, boss," Sonny answered and, with puzzled grumbling, the other Black Crows dispersed around the truck to leave their Squad Leader alone with the interlopers.

Soon, Saul was all that stood in front of Fritz and the flame-haired girl but, still retaining a wary glance, Fritz's posture did not relax nor did he stop shielding the girl physically from him. Saul frowned, shrugging with his hands thrown up and down at that. "If I let you two go," Saul offered gently; Fritz's eyes widened in surprise and softened, having not had expected that from the leader of the Black Crows. "Will you promise to at least answer some questions for me before you leave?"

Fritz warily nodded.

"Alright, then. A promise's a promise, right?" Saul then, smiling gruffly in a way that made the flame-haired girl recoil slightly and Fritz to shudder warily once in return, held out his right hand and stuck out his little finger to 'seal' that promise. _Well, it worked in __**my**__ childhood_, Saul mused to himself, _it might work for him, too_. "Let's shake to that, kid."

There was an uncertain pause as Fritz stared at the finger, as if anticipating some kind of trick - eventually, still placing himself between Saul and the girl, Fritz lifted his right hand and shook Saul's little finger with his own, inwardly bracing himself for Saul to try something. But Saul didn't, and pulled back the little finger after shaking Fritz's without doing anything underhanded. Fritz sighed in relief at that and relaxed _just_ a little bit.

"What's your name, kid?"

Fritz bit his lip nervously for a moment. "F-Friedrich...Lorraine Lasalle, sir," Fritz paused, rolling his eyes upwards in thought. "B-but everyone at the Boys' Boarding School c-calls me Fritz. So, ummm...I guess you can c-call me Fritz, too."

Saul's eyebrows quirked upwards for a brief moment in recognition of the name. _Friedrich Lorraine Lasalle? I wonder if he's related to...doesn't matter, anyway. It'd be a real long way from home if he was. _"What about her? Does your girlfriend have a name, Fritz?"

"She's...she's not my girlfriend!" Fritz squealed as his face reddened in embarassment, causing him to lower his guard and posture at that and scratch his head sheepishly. Saul smirked in amusement at Fritz's reaction. "And...well, I don't really know, sir...I don't think she can talk. When I first met her in that base, she didn't talk, either. Wouldn't smile, either, until today..."

_That_, however, caused Saul to pause in confusion. "Wait...you _found_ her at Point Zero?"

"P-point..."

"That base we were at earier, the one we shot the...ummm, 'snot' out of," Saul corrected, trying not to curse in front of the boy, as his gaze fell curiously onto the shivering flame-haired girl still hiding behind Fritz in horror. Saul's heart ached in sympathy at the sight of the girl's eyes for a moment - _I really have to have a good, long talk with Sonny about his people skills once we get back to the Liberation_ - but the mention of Fritz 'finding' her at Point Zero puzzled Saul and, for a moment, he thought Fritz was lying. "What do you mean you 'found' her there, Fritz? How long ago was this?"

Fritz turned his head and looked into the flame-haired girl's green, pensive eyes for a moment wistfully before turning back towards Saul with a sigh. "About two months ago, sir. I snuck into the base and was prowling around the hangers-"

"_Whoa!_" Saul interjected, lifting both palms incredulously to stop Fritz's tale with a disbelieving look. "Excuse me if I don't believe you right away, Fritz - _you_ snuck into Point Zero? Just like that? And for the past _two months?_ Alliance Command's been _trying_ to get agents into this rumored 'weapons testing facility' of theirs ever since the Frame War ended, but the best they could manage was to get a Ground Agent to take photos outside the facility! You actually _got_ in there by _yourself?_"

"It's...it's true, sir!" Fritz protested, looking hurt at Saul's lack of faith in him. "It's not that hard if you know what to do and really plan things out. Nearly got caught a few times, though..."

"Tell me about it some other time, then - if you really did sneak into a fully-armed RM Corp Weapons Testing Facility on and off like you said you did, the Alliance could learn a thing or two from you about infiltration," Saul sighed at that, crossing his arms to change the subject before this got out of hand. "Anyway, go on, Fritz. So how did you find her after you snuck into Point Zero that first time?"

"Anyway, I was just sneaking around when I saw this big container in between two of them, so I got curious and took a look in there, and..." Fritz's lips pursed into a gentle smile at the memory. "...and that's where I met her. She looked really lonely so I became her friend from that point on...I kept going back whenever I could to see her every night I could sneak out of the Boys' Boarding School. Really likes those pancake treats, though, but every single time, she's in that same Container between the big hangers like some-"

Saul's eyes narrowed suddenly in an intent, enlightened glare, as if realizing some detail they had missed. "Wait..._which_ container was this where you found her in?"

"The one in between two of those huge hangers - there were two Greenbots guarding the front of it all the time, so I had to squeeze in and sneak from the back!" Fritz answered matter-of-factly, although the mention of how far he got into Point Zero was making him feel a little proud again, causing him to smirk triumphantly. "Why, sir?"

Then it hit Saul, and he hammered his left fist into his right palm in enlightenment.

_The container Carlotta mentioned earlier!_

"Sir?" Fritz blinked quizzically at him.

Saul looked back down again at the flame-haired girl - but this time, Saul's look was one of utter _confusion_ and _disbelief_, as if he had been slammed in the face with a gigantic puzzle he couldn't make any sense of. _So __**this**__ girl was what's been kept in that Container she mentioned under heavy guard all that time?_ Saul gasped inwardly, blinking once in shock. _That explains the hospital robe, and it means that most likely she was __**part**__ of what Point Zero was trying to experiment with there - but why? I could've sworn she looks familiar somehow, but what makes __**her**__ so special to the RM Corp?_ "N-nothing, Fritz. Don't worry about it," Saul answered, his voice low and demurring to divert the question, but Fritz's raised eyebrows told Saul that he wasn't convinced. "Really, just don't ask."

Fritz shook his head uncertainly. "Is something wrong, sir? Do you know who she is?"

After a moment's pause, Saul shrugged again and, with a sigh, leaned against the truck behind him sardonically. "Well, Fritz, I can't _tell_ you who she is because I don't know myself," Saul answered truthfully and, despite himself, a small part of Fritz's heart sank at the answer. "But what I _can_ tell you is that she looks familiar to me somehow, and that from what you told me, she seems to be one of the RM Corp's experiments to be kept there like-"

"_Sir! Siiiiiiiir!_"

Suddenly, it was Damien's voice that rang out from his parked Mecha Frame in the distance and, with the voice sounding _urgent_ and hasty, it caught Saul's attention at once as he pushed himself off of the truck and exhaled sharply; Fritz and the flame-haired girl, too, turned and blinked at Damien, Fritz taking a step forward as if feeling some bad premonition incoming with that cry. Briefly turning to Fritz, Saul shook his left hand towards them in a gesture to wait before running with full speed towards Damien.

"Wait here for now, Fritz!" Saul cried out and, as Fritz nodded, he ran haphazardly towards Damien's parked Frame at the rear of the truck; He met Damien's gaze as he stopped next to the cockpit hatch of Damien's Dwarf, and as Saul blinked, Damien's returned hurried glance at him told Saul everything he needed to know. They weren't going to get away easily. "Damien, what's coming towards us?"

"Helibots, sir! Lots of zem!" Damien replied haphazardly, looking back down at his sensor screen; Sure enough, visible as day, a large swarm of what seemed to be small red dots were heading directly _for_ them from the southwest. "We were too busy catching that kid that I didn't notice zem until a moment ago! They're coming straight for us at bearing 2-1-8 - my best guess is about 25-28 of zem!"

Saul sneered derisively. "How much longer?"

"45 seconds!"

_Damnit, there isn't enough time to move that Convoy somewhere else_, Saul thought bitterly, slamming into the side of the cockpit with his right fist in frustration. _Either way, we're going to have to fight them off!_ "Right! Start up your Frame and get ready, Damien! The rest of you, get to your Frames _now_! We've got a Pursuit Squad incoming in 40 seconds!" Saul yelled, turning to run back towards the truck with his right arm waving urgently wide above his head; Kaylie quickly threw her cigarette onto the ground and stomped it as she and the other Black Crows promptly scrambled towards their respective Dwarf frames.

Even as Saul ran back towards them, the sight of the Black Crows scrambling for their Frames was enough to tell Fritz that something was _really_ wrong. With a frown, Fritz glanced at Saul with a pensive look as if waiting for him to tell them what they should do, still standing in front of the flame-haired girl. Stopping in front of them with a slight pant, Saul reached into his pocket briefly, frowned, and pulled out a black portable radio in his right hand.

"We've got a RM Corp Pursuit Squad coming right for us soon; I want you to take the girl and run that way right now, towards the hills, while we fight the Helibots off," Saul ordered, pointing towards the north with his left index finger while holding the radio out towards Fritz with his right hand and shaking it gently, beckoning for Fritz to take it; Reaching out his right hand gingerly, Fritz did just that. "If you need help, call me on that. Go! Now!"

Without another word, Fritz nodded - he wasn't about to argue with Saul now - and grasped the flame-haired girl's hand with his own left hand again, running and leading her towards the direction Saul specified. _Good, that takes care of them for now,_ Saul sighed in relief, watching Fritz and the flame-haired girl run off into the night as he made his own sprint towards his Dwarf parked in front of the Convoy Truck, leaping into it with a trained swing through the side cockpit hatch and quickly pressing the controls required to start it up.

Soon, as the Dwarf whined and started up around him with a shudder, Saul closed the cockpit hatch beside him, peered forward intently, and reached for the Heavy Machinegun to grasp it with his Dwarf's two hands and prime it readily for the battle ahead; Around Saul, the other Black Crows were likewise starting and arming their Dwarf Frames with their respective weapons. Looking down at his consoles, Saul's eyes narrowed derisively at once; They had less than 10 seconds left, and looking towards the direction Damien said they would come from, Saul winced painfully at a growing, buzzing sound of multiple rotors - and the telltale signs of multitudes of searchlights shining on the ground towards them - as they made their way towards their stolen convoy.

Damien wasn't kidding; There were a _lot_ of Helibots heading their way.

"Let's hope they're not here to outright destroy the truck yet," Saul took a sharp breath and, leaning forward forcefully to focus himself, slid his Dwarf in a rocket-assisted hover towards his left and stopped next to the front of the Convoy Truck. "Here they come! Crows, lock and load and get ready - We're in for the fight of our lives tonight!"


	4. Ep01c: The Biggest Coincidence, Part C

"Has the Pursuit Squad engaged the Alliance Frames yet?" Sarah asked with a tinge of anticipation in her voice, taking deep breaths as she seated herself inside a _much_ more spacious, yet nonetheless completely dark, cockpit, head lowered and eyes closed as she felt herself carried in mid-air by the Helibots above towards what would be her most daunting battle as far. Aside from the data map showing the relative area, a red dot where the Convoy Truck was and a blue dot heading towards them from the south marking where _Sarah_ herself was, however, it was pitch black. "How much longer until _we_ make contact with the stolen Convoy?"

"**In. Approximately. Three. Minutes. Corporal. Harrington.**"

Sarah nodded at that; It was a good enough answer, and with _this_ on her side, she felt she couldn't lose at all. Otherwise...all she could do was wait. "Good," Sarah sighed, and she took another deep breath to keep herself calm and ready - there'd be plenty of time for rage later when she's actually made _contact_. "Notify me when it's time."

* * *

Saul finally gave the order when the mass of Helibots from Megacity Security finally drew close enough to get within range of Sonny's Sniper Rifle - and Sonny, taking cover behind the convoy itself in between the first and second cargo beds, did not hesitate in taking the first shot, firing a long, intense green beam into the night sky and destroying the foremost of the Helibots. "Let them have it, Black Crows! **Fire**!"

In unison, the Black Crows' Heavy Machineguns fired at once, sending a massive hail of bullets upwards at the incoming Helibots as they, too, returned fire with rains of red blaster beams; As the Helibots made their initial pass with bullets blazing all around them, two of them were engulfed by the sparks from the repeated shots and exploded, shortly before a second Sniper Rifle blast from Sonny's Dwarf - who had taken cover between the first and second cargo beds, the blaster shots bouncing off the crates around him - took down a third, followed by a fourth Helibot being literally _cut in half_ by a spray of green fire from John's Gatling Blasters.

Then the rest of the Helibots zoomed past them and, as they broke off in turn, swarmed above their heads to rain fire all around them. As a multitude of beams slammed down around his Frame, Saul sneered perilously as two of the beams came too close to punching through the cockpit glass; In response, Saul swerved right and moved with a rightwards spin around the Convoy Truck, circling around the Helibot formation with Machineguns blazing. Three more beams ricocheted off the ground to his left in pursuit while, with Saul wincing intently upwards, another Helibot was shredded with multiple smoking holes and plummeted towards the ground unceremoniously in a cloud of fire - Saul exhaled and swerved left and backwards as another two beams narrowly missed his Frame.

"Break and Attack!" Saul ordered hurriedly, gritting his teeth bitterly as he brought his targeting reticles upwards to lock onto another Helibot; a controlled spray of fire quickly made short work of it. "Spread out so they can't focus their fire on any one of us!"

"_Got it, Alpha Crow!_"

The Black Crows answered promptly, and in unison, their Frames rocketed in a hurried hover away from each other as they moved away from the Convoy Truck amidst Helibot fire descending around them; Kaylie, squeezing her trigger sporadically as she noted her lack of ammunition, sneered as she managed to clip another Helibot with her sprays of fire, but the Helibot did not fall, forcing Kaylie to forcefully brake herself, and reverse direction to move _forward_, in a jarring, painful stop against her restraints as the Helibot landed a narrow blast behind her, followed by the blasts from two other Helibots pursuing her that landed to either side of her Dwarf frame.

"Still too easy," John, in turn, smirked condescendingly as his Gatling Blasters found their mark on another two Helibots, cleaving through them down the center and causing them to explode violently at the same time; He was not worried at all as he swerved to the south of the Convoy Truck, dodging four red beams that plummeted down in front of his Dwarf - Damien was considerably moreso, however, as a few beams bounced off his Dwarf's shoulder plating and one landed a hit on the radome that caused a small burn mark on its hull. Holding down the trigger as Damien tried to shuffle backwards towards his right, Damien barely managed to pulverize another Helibot in a hasty burst of Heavy Machinegun fire. As for Sonny, with no time to aim his Sniper Rifle, Sonny bit his lip in a difficult look as his long green beams only managed to shoot down one Helibot, forced into the defensive as Sonny spun and swerved rapidly to avoid the blunt of the red beams.

With the area illuminated by flashes of red light, this persisted for awhile as the Black Crows and Helibots dodged and circled around each other. "Good! Keep it up!" Saul beckoned, a horizontal leftwards sweep of his Heavy Machinegun mowing down two more Helibots as his Frame led them back in front of him, another red beam finding its mark on the lower side of the cockpit plating. "There shouldn't be too many left!"

"Reloading!" Kaylie reported with a frown, clipping her Heavy Machinegun onto the side of the cockpit space as she leapt right to narrowly evade another burst of beams; She had managed to shoot down another two Helibots before she did so. "I'm low on ammo! I can't keep this up much longer!"

"I think _that's_ what you said last night, too, Kaylie," Sonny quipped jokingly, his Sniper Rifle snapping a shot that blew the top rotor off of another Helibot above him.

"Oh, **shut** up!" Kaylie fumed. This wasn't the time for dirty jokes!

"Oh, please, you two and your sordid escapades," John smirked, the blazing green beams from his Gatling Blaster making short work of two more Helibots in a persisting whirring noise as John swung his Frame back towards the Convoy Truck, dodging fire all around him. "Everyone knows _I'm_ the one with the huge guns in this squadron."

"As if _you_ know what to do with them if she was lying flat in front of your face!" Sonny countered.

"Don't make me shoot you," Was all John replied.

"That's enough, you three," Saul frowned derisively, converging his Dwarf Frame towards the Convoy Truck hurriedly as well while countering the Helibots' fire with another horizontal spray of shells before promptly clipping it onto the side of the Dwarf's cockpit pod to reload; Damien had managed to shoot down another Helibot on his own in the meantime, causing it to swerve uncontrollably, dive, and slam into the ground in a visible fireball. "Save the banter for _after_ we've taken these annoying flies out! Converge on the truck and regroup!"

"_Got it, Alpha Crow!_"

As the Black Crows regrouped towards each other and converged in quick rocket-assisted hovers towards the Convoy Truck at the center again, as did the Helibots; There were only seven left at this point after a few minutes of fighting, and as the remaining Helibots focused their fire on Sonny's Frame with repeated, pursuing blasts as they circled around, Sonny sneered and hurriedly strafed backwards to dodge the blasts while, almost in unison, Saul and Kaylie's Frames drew their reloaded Heavy Machineguns back into the Dwarves' hands and fired. As the Helibots swerved around and reentered formation, they were met by the combined fire from the two Frames, losing two Helibots in smoking plummets onto the ground beneath as the shells shredded the metal from their bodies violently. The remainder, however, kept moving forward as the other Black Crows took aim...

Then Saul suddenly paused as his eyes winced intently, squinting forward...and his eyes widened in confusion as he caught onto _another_ distant formation of Helibots heading towards them from the south, to the east of the Convoy Truck. As Saul blinked quizzically and checked his short-range sensor screens, he pursed his lips warily as they confirmed the Helibots heading at them; However, there was something different about the Helibots, and instead of moving in to assist their embattled allies, they were seemingly _ignoring_ the battle outright. Saul looked back up, squinting again, trying to figure out what they were doing there in the first place if they weren't ordered to help - sure enough, the Helibots were drawing closer, and were indeed ignoring the rest of the battle to Saul's confusion...

And it was then that, causing Saul's eyes to widen in dreading surprise and his lips to let loose an exasperated, almost _fearful_ gasp, he finally noticed the colossal, 15-meter tall purple crate they were dragging along underneath them.

At once, every bit of reminiscence and memory he had about the early days of the Frame War returned, and Saul involuntarily shuddered as he kept glaring in awe at the passing crate...which the Helibots then suddenly _dropped_ in front of their eyes, seemingly abandoning it as they then wheeled themselves around individually to return south towards Point Zero for no apparent reason Saul could fathom, and from which a mass of white parachutes suddenly launched from the crate's four topmost corners, causing the entire crate to slow its descent and _glide_ northwards with the Helibots' initial momentum.

Towards the same direction where Saul told Fritz and the flame-haired girl to run earlier.

"We're in big trouble! Crows, hurry up and finish those Helibots _now_!" Saul haphazardly barked into his communicators even before his body officially registered the sense of urgency that welled up in his heart, pushing the Dwarf Frame forward angrily as Saul finally found the indignant anger that came with the memories of the Frame War's early days, turning it around amidst four red beams landing around it, and clenching his fists _hard_ in disdain as Saul blazed his Heavy Machinegun at the remaining Helibots in unabiding furious sweeps and sprays - the intense fire all but causing Saul's Frame to shudder with each flash of the Machinegun's barrel. _And for the love of freedom, pray that I'm wrong about what's in that crate..._

* * *

Fritz didn't know how long he had been running as Saul told him, leaving the imminent battle behind, before he finally stopped at a caring thought and turned around to blink at the flame-haired girl behind him - likewise giving him a full view of the battle between the Black Crows and Helibots in the far distance. As had been at Point Zero, Fritz's hand was grasped tightly around hers as she followed him silently; A visible sweat could be seen on his forehead from the pursuit earlier as Fritz panted slightly in exhaustion. "Are...are you alright? Do you need to rest awhile to catch your breath?" Fritz asked gently with a tinge of concern in his voice.

The flame-haired girl merely shook her head, her green eyes staring pensively at Fritz as if she was lost.

"W-well, just wanted to see if you're okay, that's all. If you're tired and need to rest, just pull on my hand, okay?" Fritz smiled assuringly at her as he said that, and felt briefly comforted as the flame-haired girl nodded and smiled a little at him back. As Fritz's eyes then flickered briefly back towards the battle, however, he blinked wistfully behind him; In the distance, the red and green blaster fire from the Helibots and Black Crows trading shots, and the bright fireballs of Helibots exploding in the sky, were all too visible around the Convoy Truck. Fritz winced sadly at the sight. Was what was in that truck really _that_ important to the Black Crows for them to fight the RM Corp tooth-and-nail for it? What exactly was Fritz doing here in the midst of _that_?

Another wistful glance at the flame-haired girl - and seeing her _wait_ trustingly for him to lead her to safety - answered Fritz's question in his heart quickly enough.

_Oh, what did the Corp __**do**__ to you...?_

Taking a deep breath, Fritz quickly recomposed himself, nodded, and began running with the flame-haired girl towards the open dusty field again. He didn't know how long he had been running or what exactly was in that direction - it couldn't have had been more than a few minutes, but it felt long enough nonetheless - but he could only trust that Saul would come back for them once they were finished fighting off the remaining Helibots. After that, Fritz told himself gingerly, he could figure out where they were and where to go from there provided-

"Wha?" Fritz suddenly stopped with a puzzled blink as a gigantic shadow suddenly fell upon him and the flame-haired girl, and as he involuntarily gasped, he looked up...to the sight of a gigantic purple crate with parachutes gliding past, and above, their heads without any warning whatsoever. "Whaaaaa! What is that?" Fritz cried out, shuffling backwards slightly as he felt his nerves tense with wariness, placing himself close and in front of the flame-haired girl protectively again as he realized the crate was falling _down_ in front of them, continuing its forward glide...and finally slam into the ground some ways in front of them with a loud, intimidating _thud_ that made Fritz's ears wince.

The very visible white 'RM' insignia painted onto the top right corner of the crate promptly made Fritz gasp in dread. "It's..." Fritz stammered, panting heavily. "It's the RM Corp!" At that impeccable moment, the crate exploded in a plume of white smoke, and in front of Fritz as the smoke and dust washed over him and the flame-haired girl (forcing him to momentarily shield his eyes with his left sleeve), the side and top walls of the crate began folding away from each other with an eerie _creak_ before falling flat onto the ground in dull _thuds_ as, slowly and to Fritz's utter horror, the plume of smoke dissipated into the night air to reveal its precious cargo within.

Kneeling in the middle of the crate was a gigantic, menacing black-and-red-painted robot with a pot helmet-like visor head, pitch-black armor plating, and a deadly array of red blasters and missiles loaded all around its body - its right forearm was built entirely out of a multitude of powerful artillery blasters and missile launchers, while its left forearm consisted of a powerful, solid-round punching hammer.

"They...they sent a _Massive Destruction Bot_ after her?" Fritz gasped in a stunned whisper.

As the Massive Destruction Bot started itself with a foreboding whirring noise of machinery and began gradually standing to its full 20 meter height, Fritz shuffled backwards a little more, feeling that nervous, panicking pause gradually overwhelm him as Fritz's mind went blank momentarily...and his grip on the flame-haired girl's hand tightened slightly as Fritz's breathing quickened at the intimidating sight. How was he supposed to escape _that_ thing? As Fritz tried to will himself to move, he felt a slight tug on his hand - and he turned his head to see the flame-haired girl staring at the MDB with wavering, _frightful_ eyes as she, too, began shuffling back in shuddering terror, as if in the grips of a horrible memory.

But at first, the MDB did not pursue them.

The tinge of worry he felt caused Fritz to regain his senses. "C-come on! We have to get back to the others! Just don't look back at it!" Fritz cried out and, while the MDB stood up to its full height, Fritz turned around and shook the flame-haired girl slightly to beckon her to follow him; Staring back at him, the flame-haired girl nodded quickly, and the two began sprinting away from it back towards the _opposite_ direction. Grasping the flame-haired girl's hand tightly as if fearful that he'd lose her somewhere, Fritz haphazardly gasped and raised the radio in his other hand in front of his lips. "S-sir! There's a Corp MDB over here coming after her - and it's blocked our way!"

* * *

The first sight that greeted Sarah as the crate opened around her and revealed her Goliath to the battlefield, causing the various displays around the Testing Cockpit in the Massive Destruction Bot's head to light up with a clear view of her surroundings as the darkness dissipated, was that of the silver-haired boy she had seen in Point Zero earlier trying to lead another flame-haired girl in a strange hospital robe away from her...and the shock she received at the sight, as Sarah found herself gasping sharply and leaning forward with another blink to make sure she _wasn't_ seeing things this time, was the reason why she was too stunned to pursue them at first.

The silver-haired boy was _real_?

"I...I wasn't seeing things back there? This silver-haired boy really _was_ at Point Zero earlier?" Sarah exclaimed indignantly, willing the Goliath to stand up as quickly as she could, as if Sarah's own force of will alone - the force of will to win _and_ to avenge Joan by pulling her weight for the RM Corp at last - could force the bulky-yet-heavily-armored MDB to stand up any faster than it mechanically allowed. The Goliath, after all, _was_ nonetheless a heavily outdated model when it came to the RM Corp's various private war machines - in fact, it was the very _first_ MDB the Corp ever fielded - dating all the way back to the early weeks of the infamous Zulander Uprising where even then, the Goliath didn't have a very good track record against Ziv Zulander's forces; even this particular Goliath that Sarah piloted now was a slight refit (built _after_ the Zulander Uprising) to incorporate some of the lessons learned from both that Uprising and the Frame War that followed, including the installation of the very Testing Cockpit Sarah was using now so Human Mercenaries could using them more efficiently than as mere automatons. It was designed for overwhelming firepower and armor in mind, not versatility.

However, Sarah still knew of the Goliath to be a reliable, deadly machine in the right hands, deadly enough that the European Alliance had forced the RM Corp to ban the production of any further MDBs on paper with the Rouen Treaty. This naturally meant that Sarah's very presence on the field of battle with a Goliath was a blatant illegal violation of said treaty, but Sarah didn't care at this point as her enemies had been brought to bear in front of him. After all, _they_ started it by attacking Point Zero in the first place. Whatever happened next was on _their_ heads, Sarah grumbled derisively to herself.

But then, Sarah frowned inwardly at that, where did that _leave_ the silver-haired boy - and what was the deal with him and that flame-haired girl? He was there, and he was the cause that Sarah lost at Point Zero, but Sarah highly doubted that this boy was actively working for the European Alliance in the first place...so by every means, the boy wasn't her enemy here. But could Sarah really leave them alone even though they've seen her Goliath? Personally, Sarah would much rather leave them be if she could help it; Sarah doubted that they'd matter, and as a soldier, she simply didn't have the heart to kill children.

"Corporal Harrington here," Sarah reported out of formality, peering with puzzled eyes as Fritz and the flame-haired girl promptly ran away from her Goliath. "I'm about to engage enemy Mecha Frames and attempt to secure the Convoy Truck." Stark's response from his temporary Command Post in Point Zero, however, puzzled Sarah immediately...and caused her to raise her eyebrows in confused disdain.

"_Good!_" Stark's voice became almost sadistically _gleeful_ at what Sarah reported, and as Sarah rolled her eyes in disgust in response from her end of the communications channel, she began to surmise that reporting in was a bad idea; When Stark was like that, it couldn't _possibly_ be good for anyone, even moreso that Sarah didn't understand what Stark could _possibly_ want with them. "_Corporal, I want you to take out all Alliance troops and Frames and secure everyone you see in the area. Don't let anyone escape; Aside from the Alliance scumbags, I want the Convoy Truck and everyone else you see there secured intact and brought to me alive. Once you've secured the area, I'll send in more Helibots to pick the prisoners up._"

"Professor, may I ask _why_?"

"_No, you may not, Corporal. Just do as I say. Stark out._"

Sarah growled angrily at that as her gaze fell upon the silver-haired boy again, kicking the space underneath her consoles in frustration. Was this really necessary? Next, Sarah surmised bitterly, Stark'll be asking her to mow them down...but did she really have a choice? She was a RM Corp mercenary, and she had physically _threatened_ Stark to be allowed a chance to redeem herself through retribution. Sarah supposed that she should be _thankful_ she was even allowed to go, much less in a Goliath.

Still with some hesitation in her heart that Sarah forced herself to override with bitter fury, she pressed a button to open the outside speakers...and pushed the controls to move her Goliath forward. The Goliath complied, taking powerful stomping steps towards the silver-haired boy as, in the distance, a number of rocket flares could be seen heading towards her MDB. Sarah gasped and narrowed her eyes intently at that: could _those_ be the accursed Mecha Frames that killed Joan and defeated her?

"**Hey! Little boy!**" Sarah cried out through the loudspeakers, but, despite the silver-haired boy jumping in a panic slightly, he and the flame-haired girl otherwise ignored her. "**I have absolutely no clue **_**what**_** they would ever want with you, but by order of the Robotic Megafacts Corporation, you and your little girlfriend's been ordered to stay your ground and surrender to our authority! You will comply at once or, as much as I personally hate to, you will be fired upon like the Alliance Mecha Frames with you!**"

* * *

"Damnit, I _hate_ it when I'm right!" Saul grumbled in turn as Fritz's panicked transmission reached his Dwarf's transceivers...just as John had managed to shoot down the last Helibot remaining above the Black Crows' heads. In the distance, as Saul turned and narrowed his eyes, hissing in disgust and urgency, was an actual RM Corp Goliath - and it was heading straight for them with heavy, intimidating stomping steps, pursuing Fritz and the flame-haired girl for an unknown reason. While it served only to reinforce Saul's beliefs about the importance of either Vedrfolnir, the flame-haired girl, or _both_ to the RM Corp for them to risk everything in sending a Goliath here, Saul was also at a loss on how to deal with this new threat; The Black Crows hadn't seen a Massive Destruction Bot ever since the end of the war, and they weren't equipped to fight one.

_But first things first_, Saul supposed and, frowning derisively as he pushed his Dwarf forward as far as it could accelerate away, sped himself away from the Convoy Truck and towards the Goliath with Heavy Machinegun brandished, _I have to get Fritz and that girl out of harm's way while we set up that Rail Cannon; Without it, we don't stand a chance_. "Fritz!" Saul ordered back, shouting at the top of his lungs to ensure that Fritz could hear him. "Take the girl and run back to the Convoy Truck! We'll hold that MDB off and buy you as much time as we can!"

"_G-got it, sir!_"

"Crow 4, you stay behind the truck and get that Rail Cannon set up on your Dwarf Frame as soon as possible! Crow 3, stay here as well and cover our advance; The rest of us, move in and engage that MDB point-blank! Let's move, Crows! _Now_!" With that order, Saul's Dwarf lifted its Heavy Machinegun in its arms and, along with Damien and Kaylie's Frames, rocketed as quickly as they could towards the Goliath in the distance, while Sonny's Frame began taking position between cargo bed sections and primed its Sniper Rifle hurriedly. With a sharp frown, John brought his Frame behind the truck as well and, flicking a release switch, felt his Dwarf lurch forward slightly as a portion of his rear compartment was jettisoned off and thrown onto the ground with a _thud_; The Dwarf then turned around towards the brown, large box that dropped off behind it and opened the top of the box sharply, revealing an unassembled, grey flak gun-like Rail Cannon lying in disassembled barrels, hydraulics and portions along the bottom of the box, which it then began assembling carefully with John peering intently at his cockpit computers.

"_I need 5 minutes to assemble the damn thing, Alpha Crow!_" John reported hurriedly as his Dwarf's hands worked to lift the Rail Cannon's parts out of the box. "_Buy me as much time as you can!_"

"You have 4," Was Saul's derisive reply. "Weapons free, Crows! Keep that MDB occupied!"

As the three aforementioned Mecha Frames drew closer to the advancing Goliath, the Black Crows raised their weapons in unison and aimed them towards Sarah...but Sarah, seemingly having had spotted them _first_, preemptively attacked, and before Saul could do anything further the Goliath's shoulder blasters fired, launching a volley of red beams into a bright spray some distance in front of it - followed by the ground there exploding in a violent spray of scorched dirt and a plume of smoke. There was a sudden, brief scream from the radio, however - and Fritz's voice ringing out from it caused Saul to tense hurriedly as he forced the Dwarf to accelerate as quickly as it would go.

"Fritz? Kid, are you alright?" Saul cried out hurriedly as he glared forward in derisive anger, realizing to his chagrin that Fritz, too, was a target here - as was the flame-haired girl with him. As the Goliath continued stomping forward in menacing steps, Saul's Dwarf blasted forward and, quickly, neared the initial plume of dust where the warning shots landed. Sneering, Saul raised his Heavy Machinegun, his fists clenched tightly around the controls. "Talk to me, kid! Damnit! Don't let that MDB get any closer!"

* * *

Pandemonium.

That was exactly what Fritz suddenly found himself exposed to as, without warning and feeling a burst of heat erupt in front of him as if the air itself ionized instantly even before it landed, there was a sudden burst of red light that blinded his eyes momentarily, causing him to gasp and wince - and the ground in front of him then exploded just as abruptly, kicking off a spray of dust and a sharp gust of wind blowing his way. Caught off-guard, Fritz could only scream suddenly as he found himself blown back slightly by the force of the blow and off his feet entirely.

"Aaaaaaaahhh!"

A second later, Fritz finally felt his rear connect to the dusty ground, and he landed hard as he felt his wind knocked out of him momentarily and his head reel from the disorientating blow. Slightly groggy and fighting back his spinning vision, Fritz grumbled to himself as he picked himself up slowly and sat up, rubbing his head with his right hand and frowning. Dust and smoke momentarily billowed over his head as he did; Finally pulling himself onto a kneeling position, Fritz took another quick breath and - feeling his other faculties return promptly along with his awareness of his dire surroundings - he started up with a hurried, panicked spring upwards and turned around with a gasp. "H-hey? You alright back there?" Fritz cried out worriedly, kneeling down quickly in front of her to check if she was injured.

The flame-haired girl was unharmed, but otherwise fared little better as Fritz turned and blinked at her - she, too, was knocked down by the warning shots from the MDB that erupted in front of her and Fritz, and only now did she manage to silently pull herself upwards into a sitting position with her legs sprawled sideways towards her left. Even as she sat there as if lost, however, she said _nothing_ and her stare remained just as wistful and silent as Fritz haphazardly started forward, knelt down, and gently grasped her forearms to help her up onto her feet with a sharp exhale of breath. She nodded at him as they both stood.

Then, Fritz gave another short, frightened scream as he then looked up again...and saw that the Goliath was still stomping [i]towards[/i] them as, on the radio in his hand, Saul yelled something to him incoherently. If there had been any doubt in Fritz's mind that the Goliath was sent to pursue the flame-haired girl and bring her back to the RM Corp, they were gone now. But beyond that, aside from fleeing as far as they could before the Goliath stomped down on them and caught up, Fritz was entirely out of ideas - and his panicked brain would not procure any sort of solution, either.

Without another thought, Fritz grasped the flame-haired girl's hand again and kept running with another short breath towards the trucks, trying to ignore the menacing _stomp_ from the Goliath's steps as it kept pursuing them from behind; It was the only thing Fritz _could_ do at this point. The Goliath was simply too much for him to handle.

It was then that, to Fritz's relief as he turned his head backwards slightly to his left while still running, the sight of the three brown-painted Mecha Frames passing by him in blazing rocket-assisted hover boosts greeted him; Inside the lead Mecha Frame, Saul gave Fritz a passing, hurried nod as Fritz ran past him. "_Keep running to the truck, kid!_" Saul ordered sharply on the radio. "_We'll hold it off as long as we can!_"

At that moment, behind Fritz as the Goliath's stomping steps suddenly _stopped_, the sounds of repeated Heavy Machinegun and blaster fire could be heard very audibly.

* * *

"Let that MDB have it!"

That order from Saul was all they needed. As soon as they were in range, Saul, Kaylie and Damien's Dwarves raised their Heavy Machineguns in their hands in unison, aimed, and finally fired in a frenzied burst of shells and flashing gunfire upwards at the front armor of the pursuing Goliath. At once, as the Dwarves swerved around each other once in an elusive shuffle, Saul moving to the right in front of Kaylie while Kaylie swerved forward and left to move past Damien's Frame from the front, the Goliath's torso armor erupted in a chaotic, brutal spray of smoke and sparks from the repeated burst of shells fired at it. The Goliath, however, did not even flinch from the bursts - its prompt response as its upper torso bent downwards slightly was to fire another volley of powerful red blasts from its waist cannons at the scattering Frames, the beams exploding narrowly in between their formation off to Saul's left side.

Saul sneered, glaring upwards, as he swerved and strafed towards the Goliath's left arm in a wide circle, his Dwarf Frame shuddering slightly with the impact of the beams; Even the shockwaves from the beam impact alone was enough to shake the Dwarf from a distance, to say nothing of what they would actually _do_ to a Mecha Frame if it landed a direct hit on one. There was a certain reason indeed, Saul frowned inwardly, why the MDBs struck so much fear into the European Alliance troops during the early months of the Frame War.

Suddenly, as Saul, Kaylie and Damien scattered in opposite directions to harass the Goliath from different angles, a long green beam lanced out from the Convoy Truck's location and blasted towards the Goliath's head while more smoke and sparks erupted from its right shoulder where Kaylie's next Machinegun bursts impacted; The Goliath's visor closed momentarily in response as the beam impacted in a dull, large explosion of smoke on its head, causing the Goliath to recoil and tip backwards...only to hurriedly right itself again and, pointing its right arm downwards, fired a powerful, wide blast from the cannons there at Kaylie's Frame as she hurriedly hovered backwards to avoid the blow, the large explosion of dust and dirt in front of her obscuring her Frame from Saul's view. Saul was next to fire upwards as he moved towards the Goliath's left flank, followed by Damien in front and to the right of the Goliath, both of their shells creating streaks of small, dull explosions against the Goliath's left upper arm and right waist respectively.

In response, the Goliath suddenly turned its body left to face Saul; The cylinder-like shoulder blasters fired as it did, momentarily showering Damien's surrounding area with a spray of red beams, followed by its waist blasters that carved a swarth of destruction behind Saul's Frame in its wide turn, shaking the Dwarf Frame with the impact slightly. That was when Kaylie's own shots exploded across the Goliath's back in another streak of shell fire, while Damien's next shots found its mark on the Goliath's right thigh in another shower of violent sparks - the reprieve was short-lived as the Goliath's various blasters fired again, the MDB continue turning left to face the opposite direction before coming back to face the Convoy Truck's direction; The shoulder blasters rained a volley of beams around Saul's Frame as Saul hurriedly moved his Mecha Frame into a sharp jump upwards and back, the beams exploding narrowly beneath him, while Kaylie was next to face the waist blasters as they narrowly bisected her Frame and surged past her Frame's right side.

Damien, however, was met by two red-tipped missiles that, without warning, launched from the Goliath's rear torso, launching upwards in large wisps of grey smoke before curving downwards, swerving right, and then locking on towards his Frame. "N-not good, Alpha Crow!" Damien cried out, erratically zigzagging his Frame rightwards, swerving forward and back as he did, while firing his Heavy Machinegun haphazardly up at the incoming missiles. The shells did just as little to the missiles as they did to the Goliath, while Kaylie and Saul fired their Machineguns again in the distance across the Goliath's left waist and abdomen in a spray of sparks and smoke only to be met by more red blaster fire from the Goliath in turn; Damien barely had time to accelerate before the two missiles exploded off to his left and in front of his Frame in bright exploding pillars of red fire, the impact force actually _pushing_ his Frame back and causing Damien's Frame to topple momentarily off-balance, leaning towards its right.

Gasping hurriedly, Damien barely managed to regain control with a sharp yank of his controls backward and sending the Frame into a sharp thrust back as a _third_ missile launched directly from the left shield arm as the Goliath turned back towards the Convoy Truck's direction, down at Damien, and exploded sharply off to his right. Another green beam lanced above his head at that moment and slammed into the Goliath's left shoulder armor, again causing it to lean backwards slightly...but otherwise being just as ineffectual. Meanwhile, Kaylie and Saul's shots slammed against the Goliath's left arm shield and leg to the same effect.

As Saul and Kaylie regrouped together with sideways strafes and snapped their Machineguns onto the side of their Dwarf Frames to reload in unison, the Goliath's shoulder and right arm cannons fired down on them; In an almost _deliberate_, sequential display, beam after beam rained down from above and impacted the ground around them, jarring both pilots as Saul hurriedly rocketed back and Kaylie swerved left, then right backwards, and then braked and swerved back to avoid the dancing beams. Feeling the jarring in her seat, Kaylie winced in slight, annoyed pain as she glared at the Goliath.

The Goliath took another stomping step forward.

"It's no good! That armor's just too strong for our Heavy Machineguns!" Saul frowned. This wasn't good at _all -_ not even Sonny's Sniper Rifle made an impact on the Massive Destruction Bot. There was only one thing that could help them now. "Crow 5! Me and Crow 2 will cover you and distract the MDB; Sneak in behind it and use your Heat Rod on the legs! Try to damage it! It might at least slow that MDB down enough and give Crow 4 more time to get that Rail Cannon set up!"

Kaylie nodded hurriedly as she rocketed forward, feeling herself press against her seat with the force of the thrust - she wasn't about to argue with Saul at _all_ when it came to MDBs. "Got it, Alpha Crow! Cover me!"

As the Goliath's shoulder blasters fired again - this time into a continuous, swerving spray of red beams that burnt onto the ground in front of it and, moving rightwards as Saul pushed forward and strafed right as well in order to pursue him actively - Saul retrieved his Heavy Machinegun into the Dwarf's hands while Kaylie, drawing the Frame's Heat Rod into its empty hand again, began circling towards the Goliath's right legs, kicking up a hurried plume of dust in her Frame's wake, and fired in unison with Damien. The Heavy Machinegun shells impacted against the torso and head in another burst of smoke and sparks, intending to obscure the Goliath's visual sight for as long as it could. At the same time, another green beam shot forward from behind the Convoy Truck, hitting the Goliath square on the torso and shuddering the unit only slightly; The Goliath promptly countered, as if furious, sending repeated volleys from the waist blasters at Damien's Frame and forcing Damien to swerve left to avoid the beams exploding to his right side.

Firing again at the left shoulder, Saul exhaled hurriedly. "Crow 5, it's all yours! Do it now!"

"_Got it, Alpha Crow! Haaaaaah!_"

Stopping behind the Goliath's legs as it curled itself inwards, Kaylie's Frame positioned itself slightly, moved forward...and raised its Heat Rod as Kaylie gave a loud, defiant cry, lurched her body forward dramatically with the blow, and slashed the Heat Rod down on the Goliath's right calf with as hard a swing as she could muster from the Dwarf's arm. Kaylie winced as a bright, blinding white-hot light erupted from where the Heat Rod impacted, followed by white-hot sparks arcing all around it before Kaylie pulled the Heat Rod upwards, wincing and biting her lip in anticipation.

Nothing happened.

"W-what the hell?" Kaylie cried out in disbelief as, while the Goliath fired another volley down at Saul and Damien and forcing them to move backwards with a rain of red beams that illuminated the area around them, she hurriedly swung her Heat Rod down again at the same spot to see if the blows actually did anything. Still nothing happened; the Heat Rod refused to penetrate the armor plating, and before Kaylie could try a third time, her look of disbelief turned into one of surprise as the Goliath's right leg suddenly shot forward, paused...and then kick back _towards_ her. "Gaaah!"

Haphazardly, Kaylie pushed the controls as far right as they would go, sending the Dwarf Frame into a sharp rightwards strafe as the Goliath's right leg swung backwards towards her. The movement prevented Kaylie from being crushed outright by the Goliath's heel kick, but she wasn't fast enough; Her entire Frame was sent into a violent spin backwards as the right leg slammed into the Dwarf's left hand and Heavy Machinegun, sending the entire arm launching off of it in a sharp, painful wrenching sound of tearing metal. Feeling her Dwarf spiral uncontrollably with the force of the blow, Kaylie grit her teeth and tried to regain control by hitting her Dwarf's balancing thrusters; The Dwarf's spin stopped as it swerved right, and then left, and finally came to a controlled halt and rightwards strafe - just as the Goliath's right arm cannons fired downwards at her, narrowly atomizing her Frame where she stood as the blast exploded to her left, but nonetheless causing her entire Frame to shudder with the impact.

Recomposing herself haphazardly, Kaylie sneered as she moved her Dwarf backwards towards Saul and Damien. "That Goliath's been upgraded with some kind of heat-resistant plating, Alpha Crow! I can't penetrate it!" Kaylie reported - on the other end, her heart sank as she heard Saul sigh derisively at that segment of bad news. "We're _really_ going to need the Rail Cannon for this one."

"Got it," Saul reported, trying his best to sound collected and rational; Flying off into a rage didn't help anyone now. "Crow 4, how're you coming along?"

The Goliath's waist blasters fired again, red beams exploding in front of Saul's Frame at that.

"_Need another two minutes, Alpha Crow._"

"We don't _have_ two minutes, Crow 4," Saul retorted crossly; Another green beam impacted across the Goliath's torso in a dull explosion, but otherwise did little to stop the Goliath's renewed, menacing advance towards them as Saul, Damien and Kaylie quickly regrouped. "We're falling back towards the Convoy Truck - Get that cannon up as soon as you can! It's our only chance!"

* * *

From the Goliath's testing cockpit, Sarah smirked ferally and glared with a taunting, undaunted gaze down at her opponents as the Mecha Frames in front of her tried everything they could, even going so far as to use a Heat Rod to try to damage the Goliath's legs...and failed to even put an effective dent in the Goliath. Pushing the controls forward, Sarah pursued with menacing, heavy steps, placing the targeting reticle on the lead Mecha Frame as she squeezed the trigger, sending another rain of red beams down around it; Knowing that they couldn't hurt her made Sarah realize that she was otherwise in no _true_ rush to finish her opponents off, _yet_. Besides...Sarah wanted them to _despair_ first to pay them back in kind for the despair _she_ felt when they killed Joan back at Point Zero.

"Where _do_ you think you're going?" Sarah cried out tauntingly upon seeing the Mecha Frames attempting to fall back from her Goliath, eyes focused intently on her opponents. In front of her, the Mecha Frames scattered again; Smirking and taking a quick breath, she squeezed the trigger again as she swung the targeting reticle in one swerving sweep across the Dwarf Frame formation, and the Goliath responded by systematically firing its various blasters in that line. A red hail rained down, exploding in small plumes in front of Damien's Frame as it swung backwards hurriedly, followed by Saul's as he brought the Frame to a quick leap to allow the beams to pass underneath him, and finally off to Kaylie's left side as she hurriedly spun right to avoid them.

The Goliath stepped forward again two more steps; The Mecha Frames circled back, collapsed their formation, and briefly regrouped with Heavy Machineguns blazing as Sarah's Frame suddenly shuddered briefly. Her smirk widened. The fools! "Why don't you just give up?" Sarah asked nonchalantly, eyes widened, although nobody could actually hear her inside the Goliath's Testing Cockpit. "What else _can_ you do against me? You can bully me and Joan around in Commandos, but in a Goliath, you guys are _helpless-_"

Suddenly, the Goliath tilted backwards again as a sharp green beam lanced out from the direction of the Convoy Truck, slamming into the Goliath's right shoulder with considerable force and causing Sarah to gasp for a brief moment in surprise. Hurriedly moving her Goliath back upright to launch another volley of red beams in between the Dwarves and forcing them to scatter again in different directions, Sarah sneered and her eyes turned towards the truck in the distance, quickly sliding the targeting reticle at the distant truck; This sniper was getting _really_ annoying at this point.

"Magnify!" Sarah ordered bluntly.

In prompt response, a smaller window opened within the Goliath's camera screens at Sarah's order, and a zoomed glance of the Convoy Truck emerged within that window box - what she first saw from within that window, however, caused Sarah to purse her lips together in a puzzled expression. There was indeed another brown-painted Mecha Frame priming a Sniper Rifle hiding between the second and third cargo beds and aiming it at her again, but further left of it, between the first and second cargo beds...was the sight of the silver-haired boy kneeling down on the ground, helping the flame-haired girl he was holding hands with earlier onto the Convoy Truck in between the two sections. Sarah winced at that oddity. _Why that truck?_

Hiding on the Convoy Truck, ignored by the other Mecha Frames around them, meant that _they_, too, were somehow part of what the Alliance was doing at Point Zero - or, perhaps even more frighteningly, what _Stark_ was doing at Point Zero in the first place. That former thought alone would've utterly stunned Sarah, to say nothing of the _latter_ thought, and she momentarily paused as the Goliath stopped and merely absorbed the ineffectual spray of Machinegun fire that exploded across the Goliath's chest plating; The Alliance didn't seem the type at all to be using _children_ as soldiers, even in desperation. _So...what exactly made them important, and why would Stark want __**them**__ back_? Sarah shrugged to herself confusedly as all thoughts trailed off at that point; If she was looking for an answer, she didn't have any place to look.

Sarah shook her head and exhaled quickly as the Goliath tilted slightly _forward_ again, hurriedly shaking her thoughts away from her focus to balance the Goliath as the green beam slammed against the Goliath's right knee joint this time. _I guess I'm confusing myself too much here_, Sarah concluded with another inward shrug. _I'm just a pilot. Just take out these Mecha Frames, bring them back, and let Stark and Lady Frenzy sort them out_-

Suddenly, as her eyes then trailed back to the Convoy Truck from within the popup window box on her screen...Sarah narrowed her eyes and blinked hurriedly...and then, as she confirmed at once what was going on, Sarah's eyes widened in indignant realization as she sharply leaned forward, feeling her muscles shaking with fury. There was a _fifth_ brown-painted Mecha Frame hidden behind the back of the Convoy Truck.

And, with its back turned towards her, that Dwarf seemed to be _assembling_ something hurriedly.

Realizing at once what _that_ could only be in this particular situation, Sarah gave a loud, defiant yell as if having just realized that she had been _tricked - _and with that instinct, Sarah shoved the flight controls forward as far and as hard as they could go, causing the entire Goliath to lurch forward as it began stepping forward again, _at full speed_, with stomping, heavy steps towards the Convoy Truck.

"Oh, _no_ you don't!" Sarah cried out ferally, eyes blazing with the previous bloodshot look again at the fifth Mecha Frame in the distance; If the Alliance's Dwarves were indeed trying to assemble _that_, Sarah was in deep trouble - If the Alliance finished its assembly, she could actually _lose_ this battle even in a Goliath. "I won't let you finish if I can help it~!"

* * *

"Upsy Daisy, there you go," Fritz sighed at that, panting _heavily_ in exhaustion as he felt his chest heave and ache with lack of air after running for so long, as the flame-haired girl finally managed to silently climb and crawl back onto the Convoy Truck into a new hiding spot in between the first and second cargo beds; As she then turned around and sat against the first set of crates with her knees hugged tightly to her chest again, the flame-haired girl merely blinked confusedly at him - Fritz, on the other hand, stood up and leaned forward against the side of the truck, wincing and virtually _gasping_ for precious air as Sonny's Dwarf lanced another bright green beam into the distant battle to his right. "Just...gimme a moment...I'll...be right up...there..."

As he was finally allowed to stop running and was given a chance to think again, Fritz frowned and shook his head. This entire affair had become very confusing to him - a fact reinforced by the realization that despite such a tedious, long run back and forth between the Goliath and the Convoy Truck, the flame-haired girl _didn't even seem exhausted at __**all**__ by the ordeal_. Did _that_, Fritz blinked to himself, have anything to do with why the RM Corp would specifically send a _Massive Destruction Bot_ to retrieve her? Was the flame-haired girl part of the RM Corp herself?

Did Saul, for that matter, know something Fritz didn't about the flame-haired girl?

A normal person at this point likely would've doubted whether or not to simply leave the flame-haired girl behind for the RM Corp and fled, but Fritz Lasalle, of all people, couldn't bring himself to do _that_ even if he wanted to. Somehow in the depths of his heart, he realized that the flame-haired girl staring at him now didn't _want_ to be part of the RM Corp...and, inside her wistful, lost eyes, silently _feared_ the Corp's retaliation. She could've always protested or pulled herself away from Fritz - or simply refused to accept his offer - if she had actually wanted to _stay_ in Point Zero and remain with the Corp. But, Fritz sighed sadly, she _didn't_ protest; She ran away with him willingly, had gotten this far together and, when the Black Crows surrounded them, had _pleaded_ in that mute, desperate way for Fritz to _stay_ with her. Just as, with that glance at him, she was doing _then_...

Fritz didn't intend to leave her at all, not like _that_ - but he nonetheless had his physical limits, and he _was_ out of breath. After another moment spent panting, Fritz finally leapt up and slowly, with a slightly weak movement, climbed onto the space between cargo beds as well, sitting opposite the flame-haired girl against the second set of crates. For a moment, they merely stared at each other at that; the flame-haired girl with a sullen look that asked Fritz what to do next, Fritz with an exhausted, weak gasp of breath that didn't have much of a plan, either. Fritz decided to think of something immediately after he's caught his wind back...

Suddenly curious as another green beam lanced overhead, Fritz nodded for a moment, weakly stood up on the edge of the second cargo bed, and turned around as the flame-haired girl looked up at the direction he was staring at; With his hands on the crates, Fritz lifted his head upwards and turned his eyes to glance rightwards towards the front of the Convoy Truck. There, diligently working as quickly as he could, John's Dwarf was still trying to assemble the Rail Cannon, scattered large modules littering the ground in front of the Dwarf and with the now-empty box lying off to its right, beside its feet; John had seemingly gotten the main hilt, trigger, and main body assembled at this point, however, and in the Dwarf's left hand was what seemed to be an incomplete, gigantic artillery gun resembling a vintage leFH 18/40 Howitzer Cannon, but with a large, curved shell clip inserted at the top of the body and a small number of electronic systems and wires lining its sides, ending just before the base of the barrel. Even as Fritz blinked quizzically at that - the boy couldn't help but admire how '_awesome_' the cannon looked - John was still working on finishing assembly of the barrel by snapping the various pipes together in a logical fashion.

_Wow_, Fritz whistled inwardly, _that's really a big gun...but is it any use against __**that**__ thing?_

With that question in mind, Fritz turned his head back towards the front, took a deep breath, and peered into the distance...and at the sight of the Goliath as it lurched backwards only very slightly at the green beam impacting its abdomen with a slight, dull explosion as the MDB was now stomping _furiously_ towards the Convoy Truck from a distance; Another volley of red beams lanced downwards at that as, in streaks of dust plumes kicked up by their rocket thrusters, the three Black Crows' Mecha Frames evaded backwards from the multiple explosions erupting around them, all the while firing back intently at the Goliath's torso in showers of ineffectual sparks with their Heavy Machineguns. Within the quiet night, the drums of gunfire rang out audibly towards Fritz's ears as he peered forward.

The sight was oddly mesmerizing to Fritz, causing him to widen his eyes in silent awe. This, Fritz realized in shock, was a _battle_ - something he had only heard about around Megacity either from the news, or from tales told by his classmates and friends, of pitched, awe-inspiring, nearly _one-sided_ fighting with red and blue lasers between Ziv Zulander's 'boys' and the RM Corp's private security forces. Turning his head right at that thought, Fritz blinked as he caught the flame-haired girl's green eyes gazing at the distant battle as well; There was a tinge of _recognition_ Fritz could notice from within her sullen pupils, as if all this was distantly familiar to her.

And now that Fritz mentioned this...all that seemed distantly familiar to _him_ as well...

Fritz shook his head hurriedly at that, shaking the thoughts from his head quickly enough. Turning back, Fritz gasped absently at the sight of red lasers and harsh gunfire ringing out unrelentingly in the distance; He could only wonder if this was a rare incident...or, with the Corp wanting the flame-haired girl back _that_ badly, this was merely the first of many Fritz would find himself facing. _So this..._ Fritz frowned to himself, and found himself lowering his head mirthlessly for a brief moment. _This is what a real battle is like_...

* * *

"Crow 4, the MDB's figured out our game! It's heading straight for you and Crow 3!" Saul gasped at that and widened his eyes as - with the Goliath suddenly all but _ignoring_ them except with the occasional sweeping blaster fire to keep them away and stomping forward at full speed, causing the ground near the Goliath's vicinity to _shudder_ in its wake - his heart raced in horrified urgency at the realization of what the Goliath could _only_ be trying for at that point. "We need that Rail Cannon _right now_!"

"I'm almost finished the barrel, Alpha Crow!" John reported haphazardly, sounding as rushed as he properly should be; He was indeed working as quickly as he could. But would it be enough? "Just need 15 more seconds and I'm done!"

"We're running out of time, Crow 4! Hurry it up!" Kaylie retorted, sneering angrily as she hurriedly circled around Sarah's Goliath from behind - whatever good _that_ would do as Sarah was now intent on ignoring the rest of the Black Crows. Damien and Saul likewise fired upwards while strafing left and right respectively, drawing more obscuring sparks around the Goliath's heads with their Heavy Machineguns to stall Sarah in any way they could. "You're going to get yourself _fried_ - along with the _rest_ of us after that - if you don't work any faster!"

Saul winced at that, his eyes turning left towards the Convoy Truck at that. It was getting awfully close...as was the Goliath. Another two missiles launched from its shoulders and, curving down, charged at Saul and Kaylie's Frames at that while the Goliath continued stomping forward, the massive explosions erupting in front of their Frames as Saul and Kaylie hurriedly swerved back and away from it - feeling the entire Dwarf shudder eerily, Saul was forced to sneer and lean forward, fighting with his flight sticks to regain control of his Mecha Frame. At that moment, Saul frowned. There wasn't going to be much ground left in between John and that Goliath...

"10 seconds, Alpha Crow!"

The Goliath drew near. Saul hurriedly regrouped with Damien and Kaylie as they circled around the Goliath in opposite directions - and Saul's eyes widened again as he saw the Goliath raising its right arm cannon readily on its approach.

"5 seconds! Crow 3, get over here and get ready to snap the Cannon on me!"

With a hurried nod, Sonny's Frame dropped its Sniper Rifle between the cargo beds, rocketed rightwards quickly to head over to John's waiting Dwarf Frame (and the gust of wind from Sonny's sudden movement causing Fritz to momentarily wince and flich slightly), and stopped next to John in wait; John's Frame was just snapping the final barrel and muzzle onto the rest of the Howitzer-like Rail Cannon. The Goliath kept advancing in front of them as Sarah's eyes flickered left and right, trying to aim the targeting reticle...

"It's done, Alpha Crow!" John finally reported, hissing haphazardly in an audible rush. "Crow 3, hurry!"

"No, wait! Move farther away first and regroup with us!" Saul gasped urgently; The three other Mecha Frames promptly chased after the Goliath from behind it. "Hurry! It's locked on to you, Crow 4!"

"There's no time!" John countered.

"Crow 4!"

Before Saul could say anything further, however, Sonny's Frame quickly took the Rail Cannon in its hands, raised it above John's Frame as the Frame's rocket thrusters kicked in to slide his Dwarf around John's right side to position itself behind him, and quickly brought the clamp mechanism at the bottom of the Rail Cannon into the shoulder hardpoint above the Cockpit Section, in between the two Gatling Blasters. Feeling a sudden surge of confidence as his cockpit screens registered the Rail Cannon with more small status windows emerging around them. "It's ready to go!"

John smirked widely at that; That MDB was in for it now, and his finger was tapping expectantly on the trigger even as the last of the status screens emerged. "Just give me one good shot-"

Sarah, however, had spotted the Rail Cannon...and she, took, was smirking ferally. "Got you!"

"_Crow 3, Crow 4, get out of there!_" Kaylie cried out frantically at that moment, interrupting John...as the Goliath's right arm cannon suddenly fired _first_, sending a large, powerful red beam spearing downwards at the Convoy Truck and the two Mecha Frames hiding behind it; The intense beam slammed into the ground just to the left side of the Convoy Truck's first cargo bed and, fortunately for Fritz and the flame-haired girl, missed the truck narrowly, but the resulting, sudden burst of force and wind that erupted from the impact nonetheless washed over the Convoy Truck itself, shaking the Convoy Truck thoroughly and threatening to overturn its rightwards. The blast, however, made its intended effects: As Fritz - seeing the blast coming at them - had dove himself down hurriedly and tried to throw himself in front of the flame-haired girl with his back turned towards the Goliath, the force of the blast radius had thrown the _both_ of them off of the truck violently and, rolling onto the ground to the truck's right side, into the ground in a dazed heap...

...While, taking cover near the front of the truck, John and Sonny's Frames felt the shockwave wash over them as well and shaking their respective units in their foundations - and John winced as he realized with a start that time was finally up. It had to be _now_! "Hey, Massive Trash Can," John quipped at that, taking a quick breath and tensing his muscles in preparation for the decisive moment, and burst the Dwarf Frame out from the cover of the Convoy Truck in a sharp leftwards spin as John emerged in front of the truck, aimed his targeting reticle upwards to bring it towards the Goliath's head, and squinted his eyes intently... "Let's see you shrug _this_ off-"

The Goliath, however, was already staring downwards menacingly at John even as he emerged...and Sarah's own targeting reticle was already _locked onto him_.

"Take _this_!"

And before John could press his trigger to fire his Rail Cannon, the Goliath fired _first_ again, and its shoulder blasters rained down a virtual _hail_ of red beams down onto John's Dwarf Frame before John could respond to them. The red beams descended upon John without mercy; Some bounced off the armor of the Convoy Truck and others exploded on the ground around him in an erratic display of destruction and plumes of smoke - but six of the beams hit dead center, cutting into the Mecha Frame's armor plating and shredding its right arm, left leg, left shoulder in sharp, melted holes...and most importantly, into the cockpit glass and onto _John_ himself.

"_Aaaaarghghghfffffmmmhmmgh...!"_

The cockpit glass and hatch all but _exploded_ violently around the Dwarf simultaneously as, seated within with no avenue of escape, John was virtually _perforated_ by the deadly red beams, his body and cockpit harnesses sliced through by multiple beams into a dying shudder through his chest, right hip, and abdomen, and along with the beams, blood spurted out of John's mouth with the internal damage to his body that served to strangle any further words from him. Then, to the horrified, utterly _disbelieving_ sight of the other Black Crows, the smoking, perforated Dwarf Frame that used to belong to John Crowley toppled sideways towards the left as the leg servos there finally failed, tilted, and slammed on its left side onto the ground, the force and momentum of the fall throwing John's bloodied, shredded corpse out of the cockpit seat altogether and onto a slight roll on the ground next to it.

Inside the Goliath, Sarah, too, saw the pandemonium very visibly...and the Testing Cockpit fell into an elated silence at that realization.

"I've...I've finally done it..." Seeing the Mecha Frame fall in that manner seemed to give Sarah some measure of pride, and at the sight of the bloodied corpse...she narrowed her eyes from within the Goliath's Testing Cockpit and sighed in satisfaction. Leaning back slightly against her seat, Sarah took a deep breath and allowed herself to close her eyes for a brief moment; Seeing John's downfall play out vividly in front of her, and remembering how Joan _herself_ met her end by Saul's hands only an hour earlier, balanced the fury she had felt for the Black Crows out. Sarah's smile widened, feeling slight tears welling underneath her eyelids at the tinge of pride she felt; Not only did she avenge Joan, she also pulled her weight and did her part for the RM Corp by drawing first blood for the Alliance. That had been all Sarah had wanted during her stay as a glorified security guard in Point Zero, and that was enough for her at the moment. "Now the Alliance knows how _I_ feel, Joan, so well...there's your revenge. An eye for an eye. How good is that?"

The reprieve was short, however - Sarah exhaled at that, opened her eyes, and leaned forward to focus on her camera screens as, for that brief moment, she felt completely calm and ready to take on the world. Her overall mission wasn't complete _yet_. "And now, for those other Alliance Frames and the Convoy Truck..."

* * *

At the same time, the other Black Crows could only stare in terror as the full brevity of what just happened sank in and, despite each and every one of them wishing otherwise, John simply didn't get back up. "Crow 4?" Kaylie asked in stunned disbelief, blinking with short, shaking breaths before that disbelief turned into livid fury as Kaylie's hands shook with anger and she bit her lip as hard as she could - it was a lesser fury than _she_ had felt that day during the Frame War when she from that point on decided to vehemently despise them, but one that was all too familiar regardless. _This...this couldn't be happening! _"John! Damnit, John, get up! _Damn it all!_ That damn MDB'll pay for this! You'll _all_ pay for this!"

Picking his Mecha Frame back upwards and thrusting it towards the left to hurriedly retrieve its Sniper Rifle, Sonny shook his head and gasped as he felt the first onset of _fear_ well up in his heart at the sight of John's death. With John's death effectively went all chances of the Black Crows not only winning this battle, but also _completing_ their mission entirely; That grim fact weighed down on him promptly and, as much as he was supposed to be the moodmaker, he didn't know what he _could_ say that would help. _It...it isn't supposed to happen like this_, Sonny inwardly frowned, grabbing the Sniper Rifle back and rocketing left to bring as much distance between him and the Goliath as possible. _We weren't supposed to lose like this! This isn't worth it! This...this isn't how it's supposed to end!_

Damien closed his eyes briefly, and said nothing to his deceased teammate; His own thoughts didn't much differ from what Kaylie and Sonny had already.

Saul, in the meantime, felt his blood run cold at that very moment as he closed his eyes wistfully and sighed. He didn't know what was more saddening as the sight of John's shredded Mecha Frame greeted him: That John died, or that John's death to that Goliath was sickeningly _familiar_ to him at that point, ever since the Frame War started. Saul had seen the Alliance's own military 3As stand their ground ineffectually and die where they stood, while Human infantrymen and pilots were either fleeing and cut down where they ran, or - if they were wounded, trapped in their vehicles or too tired to run - were trampled underneath the MDBs' feet crying out uselessly for reinforcements, their parents, divine intervention, or some combination thereof. Even with the introduction of the Mecha Frames, the MDBs still killed with ruthless efficiency (albeit with far less efficiency than before at that point) and Saul still kept seeing men and women fall to them; He had even seen _Kaylie_ become mentally shattered by the merciless machines in a single moment, feeding her ever-hatred of MDBs. A part of him had honestly thought that, with the Rouen Treaty and even with this mission, that sight would end for _good_.

But it was not to be, and Saul Wellings paid a hefty price for his naivete. _Another one_, Saul shook his head sadly at that final thought. _The Massive Destruction Bots took __**another**__ friend from me today, like they had so many others before..._

* * *

"Ohhhhhh...ouch," Fritz moaned as he groggily picked himself up onto all fours slowly from the ground on the Convoy Truck's right side, shaking his head of the daze that he suddenly felt; The flame haired-girl, too, was sitting back up on her rear weakly as Fritz blinked at her and sat up into a kneeling position on his left knee, shaking his head. What happened? The last thing Fritz remembered was the Goliath firing a powerful red blast from its right arm cannons and him trying to take the flame-haired girl to dive off the truck, but he was too late, and the force of the red blast virtually flung him and the girl off of the truck, onto the ground in a roll, and into a heap there... "Owowowow...that wasn't nice. You alright?"

The flame-haired girl nodded slightly at him.

"Ouch..." At that, Fritz slowly stood up, brushed himself off with his hands, and glanced around as he stepped forward and bent down slightly to help the flame-haired girl back onto her feet as well. Another smaller gust of wind erupting from behind the flame-haired girl, however, along with the sight of Sonny's Dwarf blazing in front of them, caused Fritz to blink and glance around hurriedly, as if reminded again that there _was_ a battle erupting around them. Upon that realization, however, Fritz involuntarily shuddered; Everything had somehow become _quiet_ for a brief moment, and no gunfire could be heard, as if something had stunned everyone into an awkward, grim ceasefire. Suddenly confused, Fritz glanced around by turning his head right hurriedly, and then left, trying to find what had changed and what had brought this strange silence about-

"_Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!_"

It was then that, turning left, the sight of John Crowley's thrown, bloodied body sprawled on the ground greeted Fritz Lasalle's eyes, and the horrifying sight caused Fritz to scream with his hands clasped over his mouth, sweating in horror, as the flame-haired girl shuffled behind Fritz to hide behind him again at the sight as well with her own horrified eyes. Turning to blink at the flame-haired girl for a few seconds, Fritz gasped and lowered his hands as he dared himself to turn to look at John's body again - _is...is he __**dead**__?_ Fritz blinked blankly, feeling his nerves numb and as if about to faint from the sight as he shivered uncontrollably. Was this a nightmare? If he was back in the Boarding School, he'd never have had been exposed to anything like this... _Did...did that Goliath...__**kill**__ him_?

But blessed unconsciousness would not come. Fritz merely stood there, staring as his heart pounded in fear and his eyes widened in shock at John's body, his soul firmly rooted to the reality of the moment - the flame-haired girl's own shivering as she placed her right hand sullenly on Fritz's right shoulder, staring at the same sight, caused Fritz to awaken from his shock slightly enough to realize that this was indeed the harshness of the reality in front of her. Shaking his head, Fritz gasped lowly. This was indeed a battle - a true, merciless battle. What did he get himself and the flame-haired girl into...?

In that instant all of a sudden, the gunfire began anew as more Heavy Machinegun fire erupted and, initially standing there near the front of the Convoy Truck, the Goliath was showered with more sparks and bursts of smoke on its rear armor. That, in turn, started Sarah from her own pause as she sneered and turned the Goliath around, stomping away from the Convoy Truck and John's destroyed Mecha Frame in heavy, resounding steps that slightly shook the ground Fritz stood under, while firing her Goliath's waist blasters downwards.

In front of Sarah, Kaylie's one-armed Dwarf was charging at her again with Heavy Machinegun blazing as she swerved right, then left, then right again in rapid hovering sidesteps to lead the red blaster shots around and away from her; Saul's Mecha Frame followed suit promptly, swerving in the opposite direction as his Frame circled towards the Goliath's right side and firing ineffectual shots at the arm cannon, to be greeted by another large red beam from the arm cannon that exploded behind Saul, nearly sending it sprawling forward - Damien's Dwarf shot forward at that moment and, with the Goliath firing its shoulder blasters down in dense red shots around his Dwarf, pushed left as the shots rained down to his left, while their combined shots continued pelting the Goliath's frontal armor in a rain of sparks.

"_Damn you! Damn you! You won't get away with this, MDB!_"

That distant voice suddenly caused Fritz to lift his head upwards with a start; That was Kaylie, and with a quizzical, blank blink, Fritz looked around slowly to see where that could've been coming from. Where...? "_Crow 5, don't get in so close!_" Saul's voice rang out next, from the same spot...and it was only then did Fritz realize that the voice was coming from the communicator within John's downed Dwarf Frame - and absently drawn to it in his horror, Fritz was suddenly drawn to something there as, walking past John's body slowly, Fritz merely stared at the downed Frame with unknown apprehension.

The downed Mecha Frame was oddly intact despite John's death. The cockpit glass and hatch was completely shattered, the left leg and foot was wrenched and crushed heavily from both the Goliath's shots and the twisting from its uncontrolled, suddenly lifeless fall, and there were a small number of smoking, burnt holes throughout the armor and the Frame, but the blood-stained cockpit seat and control sticks were otherwise intact, and Fritz narrowed his eyes as he saw that the consoles were still operational with flashing lights and displays, as well as the targeting reticle and Rail Cannon data at the frontmost screen built into the cockpit space. Walking forward another few steps, Fritz took an uneasy deep breath, unable to keep staring for some reason, as if his mind and heart was awaiting some kind of enlightenment that wouldn't come.

The communicator, too, was intact, and it was relaying the Black Crows' words to each other, intermixed with the sounds of gunfire and explosions, even as the battle erupted around them. Fritz gasped as they reached his ears audibly the closer he got.

"_Crow 2, can you move that Truck?_" Saul demanded. "_We're going to have to make a break for it-_"

"_It'll take me 30 seconds to start the truck back up, but..._" Damien retorted urgently. "_But even if we do, we won't be able to outrun that MDB, Alpha Crow._"

"_Forget the truck! We can't do anything for it now!_" Sonny exclaimed; Another large green beam lanced ineffectively off the Goliath's rear armor from further away behind the Convoy Truck. "_Let's just abandon it and retreat, Alpha Crow! We have to get out of here while we still can!_"

"_I'm out of ammo, Alpha Crow!_" Kaylie exclaimed hurriedly next. "_Do any of you have any spare ammo?_"

"_Here! Trade guns, Crow 5! Make it count, I'm running a bit low myself!_" Saul answered.

"_Are you two listening to me? Let's just abort the mission and leave the truck while we still can!_" Sonny countered again, his panicked voice rising irritably as Saul and Kaylie simply ignored him. "_We can't fight it like this, not now!_"

"_What're you saying, Crow 3? I'm not letting this oversized hunk of junk get away with killing John!_" Kaylie countered; More gunfire erupted as the Goliath's beams rained down on the four of them again, scattering their formation. "_Now shut up and help us with that Sniper Rifle already!_"

"_It won't do anything to it! This...this is a fight we can't win! We have to fall back!_"

"_Belay that order, Crow 3! Stand your ground!_" Saul suddenly retorted firmly - at a moment when he needed to be firm, no less. "_No matter what happens, we're not abandoning this Convoy! Crow 2, start the truck!_"

"_It's not worth dying for like this, Alpha Crow!_"

It would be Saul's next words, however, that caused Fritz to snap his head upwards and his eyes to widen suddenly in an audible gasp, touching his heart as if awakening from a dream: "_The RM Corp's apparent after those two kids, too! I know we can't fight that MDB with the weapons we have now, but I __**will**__ not abandon them to the Corp's mercy, Crow 3!_" Saul's words cried out defiantly at that. "_We stand our ground and protect the truck as best we could and call the Liberation for reinforcements! If we abandon the Convoy and run now, those kids are done for!_"

"_You know it, Alpha Crow! We're not leaving them behind!_" Kaylie confirmed angrily.

Fritz's heart paused at Saul's words - Saul and the Black Crows weren't just fighting for the convoy, but for him and the flame-haired girl as well, even though they didn't know _why_ the RM Corp was after them this badly and probably trusted them as much as Fritz trusted them with the flame-haired girl. And despite dire straits, Fritz realized as well, they were _standing their ground_ for him and her, which was far more than Fritz had asked of them. Lowering his head, Fritz bit his lip unhappily at the guilt he felt - it pained him that after the burden he's put onto the Black Crows, he couldn't do _anything_ to help them with the Goliath.

"_Why them?_" Sonny argued. Another round of blaster fire erupted from the Goliath as it wheeled around to face the various surrounding Mecha Frames again in the distance. "_They're not with us! We shouldn't even be helping them in the first place!_"

_They're not with us._

A wistful sigh escaped his lips as Fritz turned left towards the flame-haired girl behind him...and the flame-haired girl, lips pursed together and eyes wavering pleadingly at him in a look akin to _despair_, merely stared helplessly back at him. After how far they've gotten together, Sonny's words had made Fritz understand at that very moment, he couldn't do anything to help _her_, either. Fritz frowned dejectedly; Some friend he turned out to be. He was just as useless now as he had been a year-

_But he's not with them..._

Taking a quick breath, Fritz closed his eyes momentarily as if to fight helpless tears. He's finally failed her, hasn't he? Was this indeed the end for them? Fritz could take the flame-haired girl and run again, but Fritz would loathe himself for abandoning the others - the Black Crows would keep fighting ineffectively against the Goliath for him and the flame-haired girl's sake - and besides, what was the point? The Goliath would just catch up to them no matter where they ran after dispatching the Black Crows, and apparently without that Rail Cannon on John's Frame, there was-

"...the Rail Cannon? What Rail Cannon...?"

Suddenly, opening his eyes, Fritz caught sight of the flame-haired girl's green eyes again, bearing the same pleading look as if wanting Fritz to stay with her...but now, shimmering inside them, there was a sudden tinge of _hope_ as well as she suddenly pointed forward at Fritz's loud thought, at the Howitzer-like Rail Cannon still mounted above the battered, downed Dwarf. It was as if, at Fritz's thoughts, she understood what Fritz might've been thinking - and shared his will to do something for them.

And that was when the long-awaited, unknown enlightenment finally reached Fritz's heart, causing him to exhale and catch himself suddenly as he sharply turned towards the downed Frame again.

_The Rail Cannon...that's it? Does it still work?_

Fritz blinked, examining the Frame's controls visually; They seemed operational enough to him - enough that the cannon might at least still work indeed. At the sudden glimmer of hope, Fritz's mind went to work again, and the boy rubbed his chin thoughtfully with his left hand as if to formulate a quick plan. It was better than trying nothing at all and waiting for the Goliath to catch them after killing the other Black Crows, and if it worked...it would solve their problems and the flame-haired girl would be safe again. Turning to the flame-haired girl again, Fritz smiled a little in encouragement and thanks.

He owed it to _her_, at least, to give it a shot. _So all I have to do is shoot it, right...?_

Finally, after a brief moment...Fritz nodded to himself.

_Right. Let's give it a try!_

"Get back onto the truck and wait for me, alright?" Fritz suddenly asked as he started in a run towards the flame-haired girl with a half-enthusiastic smile and, placing both hands gently on her forearms, began leading her back towards their hiding space in between the first and second cargo bed sections on the truck. Then kneeling down and wincing, Fritz quickly helped the flame-haired girl up the truck by lifting her up and using his hands to prop up her legs briefly before standing again; That seemed to settle things for the boy, and in case he _did_ fail and the Goliath killed _him_ the same way, Fritz at least wanted the flame-haired girl to get the chance to escape on her own. Otherwise, he didn't know if it would actually _work_.

But Fritz had to try for her sake, right?

* * *

As the flame-haired girl sat silently against the second set of crates and hung her legs over the edge of the car, however, she nodded at him in encouragement and - as if in case she never saw Fritz again - smiled wryly for him. It was blinding and radiant enough to Fritz that, at the smile, he blushed slightly, feeling the extra courage filling his nerves. He winked and gave her a thumbs-up at that.

"I'll be right back..."

Then, with one deep breath to finally bring himself to start his own desperate gamble, Fritz turned right and dashed with every ounce of speed in his legs towards the downed Mecha Frame near the front of the Convoy Truck - and as he neared the Mecha Frame, Fritz's eyes narrowed as he bit his lip readily, taking quick breaths to time himself as he had done so many times trying to sneak into Point Zero over the past two months. Fritz's footsteps drew closer and closer and he began to count.

_1...2...3! Okay!_

Stopping nearly next to the downed Mecha Frame, Fritz then took one deep breath, bent his body downwards, and jumped while turning his body sideways, sending himself into a hurried leap towards the bloodied cockpit seat - whereupon he ended up slamming into it, rear-first, and then falling _hard_ slightly towards the 'left' side of the cockpit wall. "Oof!" Fritz winced at that as he felt his excessive wind knocked out of him and a bruising pain break out on his left arm at the impact; It took him a few seconds to stop hissing in pain and regain his composure, after which Fritz finally peered forward intently, blinked, and took a good look at the console screens around him.

On the frontmost screen, where a red square-like targeting reticle could be seen along with a projected camera view of the area ahead of the downed Frame, was a _sideways_ view of the Goliath - as it towered over the area and fired an array of continuous red beams down on the surrounding Mecha Frames firing back all around it, kicking up clouds of dust in their wake - along with some small amounts of information displayed next to it that Fritz didn't understand. Fritz sighed in slight relief at that, shuffling his body slightly in discomfort towards sitting sideways; _Okay, so the cockpit works, but how do I __**aim**__...?_

Catching sight of the flight controls built into the armrests, Fritz quickly reached out his hands towards them - finding himself needing to shuffle himself forward and off the cockpit seat entirely at his small height and arm's length in order to do so - and grabbed at the controls, moving the left stick around gingerly; There was an audible whirring noise in response as, while the targeting reticle on the front screen moved, the Rail Cannon above Fritz's head moved along with it.

Fritz nodded in approval at that. _So that's how you do it. Now, how do I __**fire**__ it? Hey, what's this button on the stick do-_ At that, however, Fritz's index finger flickered...and pressed the trigger on the left control before he knew what he was doing and could do _anything_ to stop it. There was a loud, noisy _boom_ that erupted from above Fritz's head in response and, as Fritz was forced to suddenly scream in startled fright and bring both hands up to cover his ears from the noise, the Rail Cannon's body pistoned back and forth, hissed mechanically, and _fired_.

The blast promptly sent an intense, sharp blue beam rocketing out from the Rail Cannon's barrel into the night sky as a cylindrical bronze shell-like power cell was ejected out the side of the cannon and into the ground, the blast searing towards the Goliath's direction...and soar harmlessly just over the Goliath's right shoulder. The other Black Crows, having seen (and recognized) the intense blue blast sail above the Goliath's head very, very clearly, reacted outwardly at the sight - they hadn't been expecting this at all. "_W-what the hell was that?_" Kaylie exclaimed angrily, her voice audible from the downed Dwarf Frame's communicators. "_John? Is that you? Are you still alive?_"

That caused Fritz to break out into a nervous sweat and blink sheepishly at the Goliath. Well, _that_ was no good to anyone.

_...Whoopsie?_

Fritz had no further time to surprise the Goliath, however, as that was when the Goliath wheeled itself around, raising its right arm cannon...and Fritz's eyes widened in utter _shock_ as he realized the Goliath's attention had been drawn towards him. And was, as its head stared intently at him in the distance, going to attempt to finish the job. Fritz gasped at that. What could he do? "Whaaaa!" Fritz cried out and tried to haphazardly look around the cockpit for anything he could do to remedy the situation, but most of the buttons looked foreign to him. Fritz gasped. He was running out of time-

The Goliath's right arm cannons flashed to send forward another red beam.

"Waaaaah!"

As he felt his mind blank, Fritz winced, awaiting the coming blow that was going to _hurt_...and his right hand instinctively yanked back as his fingers caught onto the _right_ control stick and pulled it backwards as far as it would go, and chaos erupted from within the cockpit at once; Before the large red light from the Goliath could connect, there was a sudden push as the Mecha Frame's thrusters forcefully started and Fritz found the entire Mecha Frame rocketing _backwards_, grinding along the dusty ground and causing Fritz to close his eyes in fright as it moved involuntarily. As the downed Dwarf suddenly strafed backwards, the red blaster beams slammed into the spot where it used to be and exploded violently in a burst of light and fire, but otherwise missed Fritz entirely.

It was only after another two seconds did Fritz realize what he was doing and, with another meek gasp, let go of the right control stick, causing the downed, smoking Mecha Frame to _stop_. He missed, Fritz sighed. Blinking forward, he noticed that the targeting reticle was still responding and the Rail Cannon was still moving along with it...and as he took hold of the left control stick hurriedly, Fritz narrowed his eyes and paused. Maybe he should _aim_ this time first-

Suddenly, one of the Mecha Frames swung itself in front of the Goliath again in the distance and fired off another spray of Heavy Machinegun fire again, showering the Goliath's torso with smoke and sparks; the other Mecha Frames did the same as a large green beam lanced from the Goliath's right, momentarily knocking it into a slight tilt leftwards. "_Crow 4! Are you alright?_" Saul's voice rang out hurriedly from the downed Frame's communicators, and distracted by the voice, Fritz frantically tried to look around for a means to talk back to Saul but was stopped by the unfamiliar controls. "_Talk to me, Crow 4!_"

That was when, widening his eyes in realization, Fritz remembered the handheld radio Saul had given him. Hurriedly picking it back up from his pocket, Fritz exhaled sharply and lifted the radio to his lips to answer. "It's..." Fritz answered. "It's me, sir!"

It was Saul's turn to gasp in utmost surprise at the response.

"_That..._" Saul began confusedly. "_Fritz? Is that you in that Mecha Frame? What're you doing in there? You don't know how to-_"

"_What the hell's that boy doing in John's Frame?_" Kaylie cried out frantically. "_Get out of there, kid! You'll get yourself killed!_"

"I know, but I wanna help you guys fight! I heard everything!" Fritz instinctively cried back, narrowing his eyes to focus on the targeting screen as the Goliath began turning towards him again in the distance. "I wanna help you guys protect her from the RM Corp, too, and this is the only way I know how! All I need to do is hit it with this Rail Cannon or something, right?"

_"You...you can say that, I guess,_" Despite the situation, however, and the fact that Fritz was potentially the only hope of them _winning_ this battle at this point...Saul couldn't help but chuckle grimly at Fritz's enthusiasm. _Just like a certain schoolboy when I was young_... "_Alright, I guess at this point I can't be picky. Crows, do everything you can to cover this kid - ram that MDB, block it, trip it, I don't care! Do you know how to aim the Rail Cannon on your targeting screen, Fritz?_"

Fritz nodded, bringing the reticle towards the Goliath. "Yep!"

"_Do you have it aimed at that MDB?_"

Fritz nodded again. "Mmm-hmm!"

"_Do you know how to __**fire**__ it_?"

"I _think_ it's the left button, right?" Fritz blinked and scratched his head absently with the bottom of his radio at that. "I think that's what I pressed the last time, so yeah, I do!"

"_Then what're you __**waiting**__ for, Fritz? __**Shoot**__ that thing already!_"

Fritz didn't argue. Tensing and frowning sharply as he pulled the trigger, the Rail Cannon pistoned, sent out another large _boom_ that forced Fritz to cover his ears and drop his radio off to the left side of the sideways cockpit, and lanced forth another large blue blast at the Goliath. The next blast was a little closer to the Goliath this time, but it still missed; It sailed off to the right side of the Goliath, just before the right upper arm. Fritz's heart sank as he frantically leaned forward, shuffling slightly, to check his targeting screen. What was wrong? He could've _sworn_ he had it aimed at-

"_Fritz? You still with us_?"

Hearing that, Fritz hurriedly picked up the radio with his right hand and raised it to his lips again. "Yep?"

"_Okay...that was a very good try for a civilian_,_ especially with Manual Targeting,_" Saul commented assuringly; Another large green beam stagged the Goliath forward slightly as it lanced out from behind. "_Now, aim at the MDB again, but don't fire yet, Fritz; Just hold the targeting square over it for about 5-8 seconds and wait for the computer to lock onto it first. You'll see a circle form over the square when it's finished._"

Although he was peering with worry at the Goliath - it won't be distracted for much longer - and panting with fright, Fritz took a deep breath and tried to compose himself enough to follow Saul's instructions; Moving the left control stick and bringing the targeting reticle on the Goliath's torso, Fritz's breaths were heavy as he waited, but after what seemed like a very long, very worrisome wait, there was an audible whine from the targeting screen (causing Fritz to wince again) as said red circle formed around the targeting reticle and the Rail Cannon moved automatically in response.

"Okay...okay, okay!" Fritz exclaimed hurriedly, feeling anticipation mix with concern as it rose in his heart. He had a feeling that if he didn't connect with this shot...he wasn't going to be shooting it at _all_. "I think I'm locked on, sir!"

"_Send it back to the trash heap, Fritz_."

"Got it!"

Then, giving a silent wish that he wouldn't miss with this shot, Fritz tensed again, took a deep breath...and squeezed the trigger with his index finger, sending a third shot firing out of the Rail Cannon with the same piston and booming noise. As Fritz covered his ears and narrowed his eyes intently forward at the Goliath, the large blue blast shot forward, above the Convoy Truck to the waiting, sullen sight of the flame-haired girl sitting between its cargo beds, into the battle ahead...

...and into the Goliath's right shoulder, just next to its torso. As the entire Massive Destruction Bot was jarred uncontrollably by the force of the blast, the entire right shoulder erupted into a gigantic explosion of bright red fire and smoke as the blast pierced the armor plating there and exploded outwards, all but obliterating the joint and a large chunk of the Goliath there in a chain of secondary explosions that also severed the entire right arm from the rest of its body, causing its now-useless right arm stump to fall onto the ground where it also exploded violently as well. The Goliath, having sustained heavy damage, staggered back in earnest and nearly toppled backwards with the force of the blast entirely.

The sight was never more welcome to the surrounding members of the Black Crows and, appraising the damage with a nod and a whistle of approval, Saul smiled hopefully at the sight of retribution, turned his Mecha Frame towards Fritz's downed Dwarf Frame, and gave him a professional military salute with his right hand in thanks.

Fritz himself panted and smiled in visible relief as the Goliath's entire right arm simply _disintegrated_.

"_Well, I'd say __**that**__ was a direct hit there,_" Saul praised, and Fritz felt his cheeks redden at the usefulness and pride he felt at that moment - he could somehow feel the flame-haired girl smiling in relief as well back at the Convoy Truck, and it was relieving to feel that he managed to truly protect her from something even as massive as _that_. "_Nice shot, Fritz_!"

* * *

_This...that's impossible! How could things turn out like this?_

As Sarah Harrington frantically pushed her control sticks forward and fought to regain control of the Goliath before the Goliath lost its footing and fell onto the ground on its back helplessly, she could only sneer furiously at how the battle managed to turn against her so quickly. Even as a cold sweat broke out on her forehead and her eyes glared and narrowed in a bloodshot expression in front of her, Sarah was struggling not to fly into a blind rage that would get her killed even moreso than she had been; The Goliath's entire right arm had been blown apart by that one Rail Cannon blast, and Sarah's right camera screen was flickering dangerously with static, momentarily blinding her sight in that direction.

Sarah frowned derisively. This happened because she made one of the worst rookie mistakes a pilot could make: She should've ensured that the Dwarf was destroyed entirely and wouldn't have had been able to fire on her. And due to that mistake, Sarah had lost the momentum in this battle _entirely_.

But Sarah refused to give up just yet - she could still win this if she could defeat the other Frames.

After a short while, the Goliath barely managed to remain upright and straighten itself upwards to look down upon the other Alliance Frames just as the three Mecha Frames nearest to her regrouped around each other and, swerving elusively in circles in front of her, fired their Heavy Machineguns upwards with whatever they had left, causing the Goliath to shake slightly; Panting in exasperation, Sarah ran her targeting reticle in a sweep from right to left as the shoulder blasters fired, sending a repeating spray of beams downwards in a horizontal line across their formation, narrowly missing the rear of Saul's Frame; Turning slightly towards the Convoy Truck to realign herself, Sarah hissed slightly as Kaylie's Frame swung back in to try to circle around her right side, squeezing her trigger to fire the waist blasters at her as the shots exploded around Kaylie's right side harmlessly.

Suddenly, another long, green beam lanced out at the Goliath from Sarah's right side and, being hampered from the damage dealt to the cameras on that side, Sarah couldn't compensate in time; the blast slammed into the Goliath's head and, while it refused to penetrate the armor, it nonetheless sent the Goliath reeling left and backwards before Sarah could brace the Goliath's balancing servos to match it. As Sarah fought with the controls again to balance the Goliath, the Goliath staggered left a few steps...

...when another large blue blast shot out of Fritz's Rail Cannon and blazed towards the Goliath's _head_ - and the Testing Cockpit where Sarah was. Seeing the blast coming, Sarah gasped in surprise and pulled her Goliath as far right as it would go with her controls; She couldn't avoid the blast completely, however, and while Sarah's reflexes managed to allow her to avoid the fatal blow had the blast slammed into the cockpit, the large Rail Cannon blast slammed into the Goliath's left arm, underneath the upper arm, and a violent shuddering jarred the Goliath _rightwards_ as the lower arm shield and weapons there almost simply _vaporized_.

Growling angrily to herself, Sarah leaned back and tried to stop the Goliath, barely managing to stop its descent after a few steps rightwards. Peering at the Convoy Truck, Sarah sneered with bloodshot eyes and pushed the Goliath forward at full speed; Unless she could take out that Rail Cannon for _good_, she was as good as done here...that thought was interrupted abruptly, however, when Sarah's eyes caught an even _more_ unwelcome sight in the distance, from the direction of Megacity itself - one which, one way or another, meant that her mission was _over_.

The distant flashing of police sirens. _D-damnit! Megacity Policebots? Why __**now**__?_

"_Corporal Harrington! Do you copy?_"

To round out an already _degenerating_ day, that voice was Stark's...and Sarah had already expected what he was going to order her to do, which she didn't like - not when she could still fight and win given a little more time, despite the damage her Goliath had sustained. With a roll of her eyes in disgust, Sarah grudgingly opened the communicator to answer him. "Yes, Professor?" Sarah asked gingerly, bracing herself.

Sarah's worst fears were indeed confirmed at that point. "_Corporal Harrington, fall back towards Point Zero at once!_" Stark ordered hurriedly. "_This mission is over! The Megacity Police received a report on your battle and they're converging on your location at once._"

Defiantly, Sarah shook her head. To return now would be to admit to Stark that she had _failed_.

"But I can still accomplish my mission, Professor!" Sarah snapped back. "Just give me a little more time! At least let me _try_ to destroy Vedrfolnir so the Alliance can't-"

"_It's too late for that now, Corporal! The world can't know that we're blatantly violating the Rouen Treaty - You can't be seen here with that MDB!_" Stark frowned sharply. "_If you're made with that MDB on camera, we won't be able to explain our way out of this one - and it's even worse if that Goliath gets captured by the Alliance! Fall back, Corporal - that's a direct order!_"

Sarah paused - and angrily acknowledged, slamming her fist on her armrest, that Stark was right. Without her right arm cannon, Sarah couldn't even destroy the Convoy Truck, and if she was sighted or captured here, she would be furthermore known as the woman who singlehandedly brought down the RM Corp with her own stupidity. That would indeed make things even worse for her than they had already been. Grudgingly, Sarah sighed and nodded.

"Acknowledged, Professor. Returning to base."

With another press of a button on her console, Sarah frowned derisively and waited as, underneath the Goliath's feet, numerous high-speed wheels emerged from the flats and the entire Goliath rocketed forward along the ground as Sarah pushed the Goliath towards Point Zero, circling around the truck and out of range of Fritz's Rail Cannon; Behind her the other three Mecha Frames pursued, but the Heavy Machineguns merely pelted the rear armor and the long green beam sailed past her harmlessly, and soon Sarah had managed to make her escape away from the battlefield.

Allowed a sigh of rest, Sarah bit her lip bitterly as she turned her head backwards, towards where the Alliance would certainly be celebrating their newfound bounty. She shook her head at that before looking forward with derisive eyes; At least she avenged Joan and took out one of the Alliance Mecha Frames, but things could only become more troublesome from this point on - and much else besides. _Laugh it up, Alliance idiots_, Sarah inwardly grumbled, _but this isn't over yet. The next time we fight, I won't make that same rookie mistake again_...

Sarah was otherwise left alone as, into the night, the heavily damaged, defeated Goliath - defeated unknowingly by the courage of a silver-haired boy and not the professional might of the European Alliance - hurriedly retreated back towards Point Zero.

* * *

It was only when the Goliath had vanished into the night did Saul Wellings finally allow himself a sigh of exasperated, disbelieving relief as he moved his Dwarf towards the Convoy Truck again. He admitted that it felt good to see a Massive Destruction Bot explode like that again after the Frame War; He didn't expect, however, that the battle would turn out the way it did - it had been a shock to discover that it had been Fritz who was in John's Frame. But otherwise, the battle was over...and the Black Crows had won a well-earned reprieve at last. At least for now; The main mission was not over just yet.

Pulling aside the right side of the Convoy Truck, Saul sighed mirthlessly as he eyed Fritz climbing out of John's former Mecha Frame and walking towards him; Turning his head left, Saul eyed the flame-haired girl emerging from between the first and second cargo beds, staring in wait at Fritz in the distance; Saul frowned at that. What would the two children do now? Saul would have to ask them that later on.

"_I can't believe we won that one...!_" Kaylia exclaimed in surprise as her own one-armed Dwarf Frame moved onto the left side of the Convoy Truck; Fritz was now talking with the flame-haired girl, who mutely nodded towards him; Saul realized that Fritz was seeing if she was injured. "_I thought we were all dead after John got killed! Damn that MDB! That kid should've aimed for the head!_"

"_We're not in the clear yet, Kaylie, but damn, it felt good to see that MDB's arm fly off like that_," Sonny agreed. "_And give the kid a break, will you? He __**did**__ save our butts back there._"

"_Surprisingly_."

It was Damien who broke the mood suddenly, pulling his Frame towards the rear of the truck.

"_Megacity Policebots incoming, sir! Zey'll be here in 15 minutes_!"

Saul nodded at that; They still had a job to do, and it was still quite a long way to the _Liberation_. "Alright, Damien, get that truck moving; We're getting out of here." Saul ordered at that, taking a short breath to calm himself. "Sonny, grab that Rail Cannon and snap it onto Kaylie's Frame, then take up formation with the Convoy Truck again."

"_And those two kids?_"

"That's what I'd like to know, too." Saul muttered and, with that, opened his cockpit hatch as he signalled for both Fritz and the flame-haired girl to move towards his Frame. He'd worry about it on the way; For now, the Black Crows had to move before the Megacity Police Department caught up and finished the job for the RM Corp. "Fritz, we're leaving - take the girl and climb into my Dwarf Frame! You two will be safe with me! All in all, for this fight...I'd say that's **Game Over**."

* * *

En Route to Waypoint 7, 10:15pm

"So..." Saul finally asked, turning his head back towards his left with a curious look as, in the small space behind his cockpit seat, Fritz and the flame-haired girl were huddled together, side-by-side, along the right cockpit wall with their knees hugging against their chests. Shrugging, Saul frowned inwardly in apprehension and blinked at the sight; The Black Crows, once again in formation around the Convoy Truck - minus John's Frame - had managed to put the previous battle behind them at that point and were heading at their fastest pace towards the _Liberation_ along the designated route, hovering along another dusty, dry opening in plumes of dirt and dust. "Given your lack of training, that's actually some nice shooting you did back there with the Rail Cannon, Fritz. Did you have any prior piloting training at _all_ or are you just good at video games?"

Saul couldn't help but wonder a lot of things when his eyes caught onto the flame-haired girl even when Fritz first revealed himself to the Black Crows, and the battle with the Goliath only reinforced some of his suspicions; She _did_ look familiar to him somehow, although Saul still couldn't place _why_ she would be important - much less to the RM Corp. Was she truly worth the RM Corp blatantly violating the Rouen Treaty to bring her back, or was the RM Corp even after her at _all_ in the first place? Try as Saul did, he couldn't think of any significance to her, but he couldn't help but feel naggingly in his chest that things simply weren't that simple.

But one thing was certain, if nothing else; The Black Crows had paid too high a price to cling onto what they had, and while John was not entirely irreplacable, his death still _hurt_ the Black Crows considerably. Saul could only hope that, in the very end, John's death was worth all that they just obtained. "Oh, ummm," Fritz flustered, scratching his head embarassedly at Saul's praise. "It...it's nothing, sir. I guess I just played a lot of video games."

"Don't sell yourself short, kid - not very many 12-year-olds can do what you just did back there and survive it," Saul replied gently. "We owe you one for that."

"I...didn't really _think_ I'd be doing that, really..." Fritz shrugged nonchalantly.

"Fair enough." Saul nodded; He _thought_ that might be the case with Fritz. 12-year-olds, after all, generally don't aspire to be shooting down MDBs and fighting the RM Corp by themselves, and he expected that something _else_ might have driven Fritz to that burst of courage aside from mere altruism. With that thought, he took a deep breath to stare forward momentarily to steer his Frame; he was, once again, at the forefront of the formation. "What do you intend to do now, Fritz?"

"What do you mean, sir?" Looking up, Fritz blinked blankly at Saul at that.

"I mean, do you really _want_ to stay in Megacity after what just happened?" Saul continued matter-of-factly, turning his head backwards to gaze at him again as he addressed the issue directly. "The RM Corp apparently have you both marked now, and they want you two badly enough to send a Massive Destruction Bot after you. I don't know if you actually have any family in Megacity, Fritz, but-"

Fritz shook his head. "No," He answered, lowering his head with a tinge of loneliness in his voice; Fritz was a foreign student here from France, and although he returns home there every summer to live and spend time with them, Fritz otherwise rarely sees his family for the rest of the year - his classmates and friends were pretty much the only social interactions he gets in Megacity. "_Maman_ and Helena live in Versailles and I don't see them until summer vacation. It's...really far away."

Saul's eyes widened slightly at that as if realizing something amusing at Fritz's words, but said nothing aside from an understanding nod. "Well, there you go," Saul answered firmly. "All the more reason for you and your little flame-haired girlfriend-"

"_S-she's not my girlfriend!_" Fritz squealed defensively, biting his lip furiously to fight his blush back.

The flame-haired girl turned and stared at Fritz at that.

"Riiiiiight, right. But anyway, girlfriend or not, you and her should definitely come with us on the _Liberation_ and get out of Megacity until this tides over," Saul finished, chuckling in amusement at Fritz's reaction to that one; All silliness aside... "You might be asked to answer some questions for Alliance High Command regarding what happened tonight once we get to Europe, but afterwards we'll send you home to your family in Versailles and you and her can sit the rest of this out in safety. You'll be safe with us."

As Fritz's mind reeled to analyze Saul's words and offer, however, his heart gave an unnerved pulse and caused Fritz to start with a blink - suddenly with an unpleasant thought, Fritz shook his head sullenly. "N-no," Fritz began softly. "Thanks for asking, but n-no thanks, sir."

Saul pursed his lips together pensively at Fritz's answer. "Are you sure? You really should think about this some more, Fritz."

"Y-yeah, I'm positive," Fritz answered; His head turned, and he absently gazed at the flame-haired girl's solemn eyes with a soft, worried frown. "I'll think of something."

"That's your choice, then," Saul countered, shaking his head dejectedly at that. It was obvious, Saul realized, that despite knowing that Saul was _right_...Fritz simply didn't trust the other adults on this, much less with _her_. Shrugging inwardly, Saul supposed he couldn't blame Fritz for feeling uneasy about what Saul offered...especially given that there was no telling _what_ that flame-haired girl might've had to endure while she was in Point Zero, in the hands of those so-called 'adults'. _It might be for the best, _though, Saul admitted; _It'd be a horrible breach of protocol to reveal even more military secrets to these two kids than they've already seen, and besides, if they're really after that girl there's no telling if the Corp put a tracking device in her...if they did, it might not be wise to lead the Corp right to the Liberation, anyway._

While it would indeed be a shame, Saul wouldn't force Fritz to go with them, either; How much different would that make _them_ compared to the RM Corp if they did? "Then what are you going to do now, Fritz?"

Fritz paused for a moment, head tilted up in thought, before turning back to Saul with a determined blink. Fritz had to admit that he didn't really have a surefire plan for keeping the flame-haired girl safe at that moment, but if nothing else, he knew what he should do _next_ - and from that point he had more options. "Ooh, I know now! I'll take her to the Boys' Boarding School for tonight and hide her in my dorm room; I know all about the school's security and groundskeeping patterns already and about the blind spots in their cameras, so I know where the best places to hide are, and she'll be safe there," Fritz answered confidently. Familiarity and months of planning was his ally here, if nothing else. "Once I get back, I'll also give _maman_ a call in Versailles and ask her to buy a plane ticket to get her out of Megacity."

As he paused and stared forward to steer and keep in formation, Saul narrowed his eyes while thinking on Fritz's words. It was otherwise a surprisingly sound plan for a 12-year-old; The best way to hide someone, even if temporarily, was to hide in plain sight - and the RM Corp likely would be expecting Fritz and the flame-haired girl to flee Megacity with the Black Crows, anyway, meaning that the Corp wouldn't be too likely to think of looking _inside_ Megacity for them, if they really *were* targeted. "That...actually sounds like a good plan," Saul admitted. "But how're you going to _get_ to the Boarding School from here?"

"Are we heading north?" Fritz asked suddenly at Saul's inquiry. Saul nodded.

"Northeast."

"Awesome. There's a road along the shore further northwest - me and her can just take the Megacity Bus there," Fritz answered, eyes sparkling and beaming with pride at how two months' worth of trial and error, sneaking in and out of Point Zero, was paying off for him here. "It'll take us right back to where I sneaked out of the school to get to that base to begin with."

There was another pause as Saul's mind processed Fritz's words, narrowing his eyes in focus downwards as he quickly pressed a few buttons on his cockpit consoles; The targeting screen promptly changed to a map of Megacity's northern approaches and, as Saul moved his control stick to center the map, found the road Fritz was talking about...after which Saul nodded in approval. It should be close enough to the _Liberation_ for a detour, if that was what Fritz truly wanted. "Alright, Fritz. If you're set on that, I'll give you and her a ride to the bus station there. That okay with you?"

Fritz nodded in agreement at that.

"Crows, keep proceeding towards the Final Waypoint with the Convoy Truck - I'm going to divert for awhile to drop these kids off." Saul ordered with that thought and, taking a deep breath to adjust his bearings, turned his control sticks to steer his Dwarf towards the left in a moderate hover; The Dwarf turned at that and moved away from formation towards the designated road. Saul exhaled. This should be simple enough and, since he had a feeling he'll see more of the flame-haired girl again, Saul was in no rush to solve that missing piece of the puzzle just yet. "I'll catch up and rendez-vous with you again at the Final Waypoint."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to change your mind?" Saul asked one more time, leaning against the left side of the cockpit with his left elbow propped up above the consoles there, as Fritz slowly crawled onto the side of the cockpit, out the hatch, and climbed onto the ground with a slight leap; True to what Fritz said, the Dwarf Frame was now standing approximately twenty meters to the west of the concrete road, a road dotted with large hanging street lamps in the middle of a plain opening; There was a single pole standing some ways to the side of the opposite end of the road noting the Bus Station's existence.

Fritz shook his head, raising his hands towards the cockpit hatch as the flame-haired girl was next to climb out; Grabbing onto her wrists and then her forearms, Fritz took a deep breath and gently helped her climb down onto the ground as well. "Nah, I'm good, sir. Thanks for everything."

Saul nodded.

"No problem," Saul answered at that, giving Fritz a thumbs-up; Although he had hoped otherwise, he expected Fritz wouldn't budge on that, and the only thing he could offer in that vein now was words of encouragement and caution. "You be careful, then - and don't say anything about the MDB or what you saw at Point Zero to anyone, Fritz, even if someone asks you. You don't need to tell anyone; Just let us handle the rest."

"Okay!" Fritz smiled, nodding at that. "You be careful too, sir!"

"Thanks," Saul turned back towards the front of the cockpit space for a moment, straightened himself to steer and start the Dwarf frame again...and suddenly turned his head back to Fritz one more time, nodding with a slight sideways slant at the boy. "And take good care of her, okay? Don't let her get hurt."

It was Fritz's turn to give Saul a thumbs-up at _that_ as Fritz winked with his left eye. "I won't! You can count on me!"

"Right, then. Goodnight, Fritz."

"You too, sir."

Then, as Fritz waved farewell with wide waves of his right hand, Saul turned forward and took a deep breath as he pressed more buttons to restart his Frame in front of Fritz and the flame-haired girl; The Dwarf Frame gave a loud whine and a jet of steam as its rocket thrusters restarted and, as Saul pressed the control sticks forward, dashed into a dust-kicking hover forward for a moment before turning right, swerving to its final waypoint of the mission. Soon, as Fritz looked on and lowered his hand, Saul and his Mecha Frame dashed into the night and vanished from sight.

Fritz and the flame-haired girl were alone.

As silence set into the area and enveloped the two children, Fritz took a deep breath, stretched, and turned towards the empty road behind him. The flame-haired girl, pursing her lips, walked slowly towards Fritz with uncertain steps at the emptiness as if asking him where to go next; Feeling her next to him, Fritz blinked and turned his head left to glance at her - it was then that the fact that they were truly alone now hit Fritz's mind, and Fritz found himself shuddering slightly in discomfort at the uncertainty ahead of them. Perhaps he should've taken Saul up on his offer to leave Megacity even though he didn't really trust other adults with her - and would he end up seeing Saul again? What was going to happen next?

Gazing pensively at the flame-haired girl, Fritz found himself staring into her sullen eyes again (those eyes that had always entranced him so for an unknown reason) and his uncertainty faded slightly as the slight, hopeful glimmer he could've _sworn_ Fritz had seen in her pupils - especially after that Massive Destruction Bot was pulverized in front of her eyes - flashed in his heart and caused it to pound slightly. At that moment, Fritz realized that he didn't regret anything, either, and he smiled wryly at her with a notable fluster in his cheeks; Somehow, due to meeting her, Fritz had found the courage to not only get the flame-haired girl out of Point Zero as he had promised, but also _face down and defeat a RM Corp Massive Destruction Bot_ to protect her.

Under normal circumstances Fritz would've found himself too terrified and paralyzed with panic to do either of those things, but those green eyes of hers had given Fritz a burst of courage and determination he never thought he had in him. And If nothing else, despite the absolute _biggest coincidence_ allowing Fritz to meet the flame-haired girl and run away with her...they've gotten _this_ far together. With that train of thought, Fritz intended to keep pushing forward as far as he could, as far as she was willing to follow him.

As if sensing his thoughts, the flame-haired girl's demure smile emerged encouragingly to him, and Fritz felt his heart skip another beat at the beautiful sight.

Somehow, Fritz knew confidently at that moment...things would work out in the end.

"Well, ummmm...you ready to go?" Fritz asked sheepishly and, winking in encouragement at her, held out his left hand towards the flame-haired girl gently; The flame-haired girl accepted and slowly raised her own right hand to place it on Fritz's own, nodding meekly in willingness to trust and follow this kind-hearted silver-haired boy wherever he went. There was a moment's pause in silence as Fritz's hand grasped gently around hers and closed in assurance; Perhaps one day the very truth to what Fritz had found in Point Zero would reveal itself in full, but for now, _this_ was all they needed to share.

"Alright! Let's go!"

With those determined words, Fritz and the flame-haired girl slowly walked forward, towards the Bus Station, and moved into the night sky ahead together.


End file.
